seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia. good morning. breaking news. anti-american protesters attack a u.s. consulate in libya and the embassy in cairo, egypt. this after a controversial film ignites a wave of violence. this morning, libyan officials tell nbc news that the u.s. ambassador to libya is dead along with three others. we're live in cairo. high expectations. apple unveiling its newest version of the iphone today. what are the new features? how much will it cost? and can it keep apple on top of the smartphone game? and life after murder. the first images of scott peterson on death row at san quentin prison for the murder of

his pregnant wife and unborn child. we'll talk to the journalist given ray access inside the notorious prison today, wednesday, september 12th, 2012. nbc-universal television captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1 ak-in rockefeller, plaza. good morning. welcome to "today" on this wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm savannah guthrie. we're followinging breaking news that the u.s. ambassador to libya and three others are dead amid violent and ongoing protests in the middle east. demonstrators, angered by a homemade film made by a california real estate developer that ridicules islam's prophet muhammad. >> the worst of the attacks in the consulate in libya, stormed the building opening fire with

automatic weapons before burning it to the ground. secretary of state hillary clinton is strongly condemning the violence and fears it may spread. let's get right to nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel in cairo this morning. richard, good morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning. as you can see, the protests in front of the u.s. embassy are still continuing. a new group of protesters just arrived in front of the embassy. the situation, although it is somewhat chaotic here, is largely peaceful. there is a very large security presence from the egyptian riot police, and these people are still continuing the same demonstration that they began yesterday. but the bigger news is what we are learning about what happened yesterday in the city of benghazi. a libyan security official told nbc news that the u.s. ambassador, chris stevens, was killed when a mob, an armed mob attacked the consulate in

benghazi yesterday. first they attacked the consulate with rpgs and then automatic rifles and then set the building on fire. this official says that the u.s. ambassador was holed up in some sort of room and apparently died of smoke inhalation. the u.s. state department has not officially confirmed his death, only saying that a u.s. official has been killed. >> and richard, do we know anything about the identity of the three others that were killed in that attack as well? are they americans, military personnel? >> reporter: we don't know. we know -- we've been told that the u.s. ambassador's body and three other bodies have been taken to the benghazi airport. there are some reports that at least one, perhaps all of them, may have been u.s. marines, but we have not been able to confirm that. our source is only saying that it was the ambassador. three other bodies and that the libyan president and prime minister are expected to make

statements about this sometime today. >> and richard, before i let you go, the film that is at the center of this controversy that seems to denounce islam and has angered these protesters has been out for a while. does it seem though as if u.s. officials were caught somewhat flat-footed by these protests? >> reporter: no. i think the u.s. saw this coming. the video has been out there for a while. it was a very obscure online movie, but the case had been picked up by a local preacher here, and the local preacher began to talk about it and started to say that this movie, and it was only described as a movie, not a youtube-type video, was about to be broadcast nationwide in the united states on the anniversary of 9/11, and that's why people came out yesterday to demonstrate to stop the airing of this movie which, of course, was never the case. it was just this online movie, offensive to islam.

>> that's nbc's richard engel outside the u.s. embassy where you can see protests continue this morning in cairo, egypt. richard, thank you very much. >> we want to bring in andrea mitchell our chief foreign affairs correspondent. andrea, as we await any confirmation from the state department, what can you tell us about ambassador stevens, an experienced diplomat in the middle east. >> a career diplomat. this is a man who had gone to berkeley and had gotten a law degree and a degree from the national war college. he was fluent in french and arabic. he had been a peace corps volunteer in 1983 in morocco, teaching english before he joined the foreign service about nine years later. this is a man who has very adept at social media. he was active on facebook. he was very involved with the community. he had been in benghazi during the conflict, during the civil war and then had two previous tours in libya as well and had been an ambassador throughout the middle east as well as in

jerusalem in the embassy there. so this is a career diplomat, a huge tragedy and the first american ambassador, if this is officially confirmed, and we do believe from our sources here as well, that this is sadly, tragically true. this would be the first american ambassador killed on duty since ambassador dougs in afghanistan in 1979. >> folks will recall that benghazi was the focus of the uprising, a lot of the uprising in libya about a year ago what. do you know about the security situation in libya prior to this, and what kind of security a u.s. ambassador would have in a hot spot like this? >> reporter: well, there's always a marine guard, the united states marine who guards all of our facilities this, consulate and embassies so he would have the marines as well as some diplomatic security, but there's no way that they could apparently resist this mob, a flash mob or the sudden uprising that took over the consulate. >> all right. nbc's andrea mitchell with the

latest. we'll check back in with you. thank you. >> reporter: you bet. and the diplomatic crisis is also turning political this morning with the white house and mitt romney's campaign trading duelling statements overnight. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. well, believe it or not, yesterday began with a pause in the campaign to remember the 11th anniversary of 9/11, but it ended with some nasty political mud-slinging. hoping to contain the fallout from the anti-muslim film, the american embassy in cairo released a statement on tuesday that some republicans considered a partial defense of the violent protests. the embassy denounced the attack as an unjustified breach but appearing to reference an anti-muslim filmmaker here in the united states it also condemned the continued efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of others. mitt romney pounce the.

it's disgraceful that the obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks, the gop presidential candidate said in a statement late tuesday. the obama campaign fired back saying it was shocked that following the deadly protests, quote, governor romney would choose to launch a political attack. >> sarah palin! >> even sarah palin joined the fray, paraphrasing a line often used to mock her. >> and can i see russia from my house. >> as a way to slam the white house. >> reporter: apparently president obama can't see egypt and libya from his house, she tweeted. a couple of things. that cairo statement by the embassy there was never approved by the state department or the white house. that said, can i tell you here, matt, officials here are just stunned that the romney campaign wouldn't even wait till daybreak before pouncing on this story considering we didn't have confirmations of the death of the ambassador and others. >> chuck, before i let you go.

let's talk about another story we're looking into. it's a diplomatic story. depending on who you're listening to, it's either a major difference of opinion between president obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu or a scheduling conflict. what can you tell me? >> reporter: well, it's a little bit of both. look, the united nations general assembly, it comes into session. the opening session happens late they are month in new york and with both the president and netanyahu going to be in new york, the assumption was, at least on the israeli front, they would get a sit-down with the president. a lot going on with iran, things like that. apparently according to the white house there was a scheduling conflict. the israelis thought they were being snubbed by not getting a one-on-one meeting. the white house says we won't even be in new york the same day. they will both be there at different times, the president jumping right back on the campaign trail. that said, what did the president do last night, matt? he picked up the phone and he and netanyahu with a hundred-hour conversation, and according to the white house version of the events they

agreed, hey, no invitation ever asked for by the israelis, none extended and therefore non-denied. let's be realistic here. the president and netanyahu have never had a great personal relationship. this is just one more piece of evidence. >> all right. chuck todd at the white house this morning. chuck, thank you very much. >> a busy morning. let's get a check of the morning's other top stories. natalie morales is over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. chicago's school system is still at a standstill for the third straight day. nbc's kevin tibbles is there with the very latest on the teachers strike. good morning, kevin. >> reporter: indeed, natalie. third day of empty classrooms, parents juggling kids and jobs and no end in sight. a sea of red in chicago as thousands of striking teachers clogged city streets in a massive show of solidarity. >> we did not pick this fight. we did not start this fight. >> reporter: while days of intense bargaining have negotiators disagreeing on how

close the two sides are, 400,000 chicago kids will once again today be out of the classroom. >> i do believe that it was totally avoidable, totally unnecessary. it was a strike of choice, and it's the wrong choice for our children. >> reporter: hot-button issues remain, how teachers are evaluated and the hiring of new teachers versus those who have been laid off. while their children's fate is negotiated behind closed doors, parents hustle to keep them okayed by. >> if it goes into next week we'll find ourselves challenged and have to make the best of it. >> in the meantime we'll make do. do homework at home. >> reporter: and while classrooms sit empty, children just want to know why. >> well, i have a new teacher. and i only had her for four days, and i want to see her again. >> i miss my teacher. >> reporter: and to perhaps ease the strain on some of those parents, those chicago schools like this one behind me here that have been opening their

doors for half a day staffed with non-union employees have now announced that they will stay open an extra two hours each day. natalie? >> tough situation there all around. kevin tibbles in chicago, thank you. a new book from the italian boyfriend of amanda knox admits that he and knox attracted suspicion with their strange behavior after knox's housemate meredith kircher was found dead and he insisted they were innocent. they both served four years in an italian prison for the murder but were acquitted last fall. las vegas is cleaning up after powerful storms left flooded streets and drivers stranded in the road. meantime, heavy rain caused an embankment to breach damaging roads and washing out homes. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's mary thompson is at the new york stock exchange. everybody gearing up for the new apple announcement. >> reporter: the iphone 5 expected to be unveiled today.

analysts expect with its slimmer design and better camera, apple will sell 10 million in the first ten days after it's launched, 50 million by the fourth quarter. you add in all the parts, acc s accessories and contracts sold with it, and one quest adds it could add a quarter to half percent of growth to the economy in the fourth quarter. may not add to apple's stock price initially though. that's because shares typically fall on the day a new iphone is launched. back to you. >> all right. mary thompson, and we'll have much more on the iphone launch coming up in just a moment. a snow day on the red planet. a nasa orbit everyone has spotted evidence of carbon dioxide snowfalls on mars that could even accumulate, apparently, on the red planet's surface. meantime, jupiter may have taken a bullet for us. a large meteorite was caught slamming into the planet's surface on jupiter is the so-called vacuum cleaner of the universe. good thing jupiter is there. back over to matt, savannah and

al or bruce willis. >> by the way, al predict that had snow. >> wow. 100% accuracy on mars. >> i don't like to take credit, but anyway. let's show you what we've got, at least as far as today is concerned, closer to home. we are looking at a big system that's brought all that rat a bl the rain and flooding to parts of nevada and utah. it's pushing to the east. not only is it dropping rain anywhere from three to five inches of rain from omaha to albuquerque, it's bringing a change. 60s and low 70s. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, i'm tom kierein. another fresh and cool morning around the region. upper 40s to 50 degrees. a half hour past dawn, it's 60 at reagan national and near the bay later today with the strong september sun. we'll make it up to 80.

low humidity with bright sunshine. over the weekend, partly that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thanks very much. more now on the unexpected unveiling of apple's new iphone in an event in san francisco. what can we expert? digital lifestyle expert mario armstrong is here to tell us. mario, good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> a lot we don't know because no one at apple mistakenly left a prototype at a bar. >> the only apple i can find. >> what can we surmise? bringing props, good. >> it's apple season. we can surmise a couple of things. we know that pretty much with a lot of certainty, thinner device, a little bit longer. we'll be able to see newer devices. probably see the ipad mini, the shortest sized tablet and new nanos and new software, ios software. >> we'll hit the categories people care the most about it. the size, thinner. bigger screen? >> about 4 inches on the screen size and a little bit thinner. >> memory?

>> memory pretty standard, 16, 32, 64. may do 128 and charge $1,000 for it but i doubt it. >> the last couple of upgrades, updated the camera. >> absolutely. >> expecting a same camera or new one? >> same camera but better focus and lens. can do quicker shooting and focus. >> what about my friend sirie? >> your girlfriend sire. >> she will be there. >> able to do encyclopedia knowledge on certain things, language and sports scores and stats. >> i read somewhere between 199 and 399. that's the range? >> that's still the range. >> the one rumor that i'm hearing that's going to upset a lot of people is they may change the port structure on this phone. >> yes. >> which would make all of your previous chargers, accessories and docks obsolete? >> that's right. the idea is they are going to a smaller pin. i'm holding the older pin here. >> that's the one i have. >> if they go to the smaller pin, the micro usb. >> why would they do it though? >> makes sense, this one is

proprietary. mario, why would they want to continue to make something proprietary? this is standard. the european union is making standards to standardize. >> but you have to buy all new chargers. >> may already have it for e-readers and digital cameras and other devices. >> this will be the first iphone launch post-steve jobs. >> right. >> how important is this for the company? >> extremely important. also the first one since 2010 that's had a change to the actual physical features of the phone, the actual look and feel of the phone, but tim cook has to hit this out of the park. look, this has steve jobs' fingerprints already all over it. i want to see what tim cook does the fourth product from now. >> don't want to make this all about apple. if you're looking for a less expensive alternative, a couple of suggestions? >> the nokia, a window's phone, and the s-3, the one in litigation and all the litigation about the samsung galaxy on charge for 99 bucks online at amazon.com.

>> mario. thanks a lot. >> just don't use this one. >> 7:17. once again here's savannah. a former banker who helped americans dodge taxes will get a huge reward from the irs. his information helped expose a tax evasion scandal at a swiss banking giant. well, now he's set to receive $104 million for his efforts. cnbc has more details on this story. amon, good morning to you. >> reporter: for 41 men bradley birkenfeld sat in a federal prison in pennsylvania knowing he would walk out of there, owl out of work and unemployable or fabulously wealthy, and there was almost nothing he could do about it. bradley birkenfeld was an american working for the swiss bank ubs trying to help american clients avoid taxes. in 2007 he went to the u.s. government and revealed the inner workings of the famously secretive swiss banking system. still, the department of justice said birkenfeld withheld information about his own role and sent him to prison on

conspiracy charges back in 2009. birkenfeld was irate. >> this is the largest tax fraud case in the world and i sacrificed my reputation, my life, my finances, and this is how i get treated? >> reporter: but on tuesday birkenfeld's lawyers announced that he's getting a spectacular windfall, $104 million from the irs. >> today is a great day, a great day for the american taxpayer. >> reporter: by law, whistleblowers are entitled to a percentage of the money they return to the u.s. government, and birkenfeld's lawyers say the irs collected more than $5 billion in new taxes as a result of his information, justifying what could be the largest payout to a single whistleblower in u.s. history and sending a message to other financial executives. tell uncle sam what you know, and you could get very rich, even though the government might have to write checks to some unsavory characters. >> you don't have mother teresa and the boy scouts planning

these things. it takes a rogue to catch a rogue. >> reporter: in geneva birkenfeld's job was to court rich clients and move their money into secret accounts in switzerland. birkenfeld even once stashed expensive diamonds in a toothpaste tube to cross the border for a client. after birkenfeld came forward, ubs paid $780 million in penalties and turned over more than 4,000 client names to the u.s. government. thousands of additional secret accountholders have turned themselves in through an irs amnesty program. birkenfeld is still under home confinement and will have to pay taxes, yes, taxes, on the $104 million he's getting from the u.s. government. savannah? >> amon, thank you. coming up, never-before-seen photos that show scott peter season inside the san quentin prison and gives us a rare glimpse into his life on death row there. but first, this is "to

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today. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. prep your garden for fall. three bags of earthgro mulch is just $10. good morning. it's 7:26 on this wednesday, september 12th. i'm aaron gilchrist. the husband of a woman killed by a culpeper police officer has died. gary cook was found inside husband culpeper apartment. in february, his wife was shot by a police officer. that officer has been fired and faces murder charges. here is storm 4 team meteorologist, tom kierein. >> a chill is in the air. it's near 50 degrees throughout the region. later today, soaring 80 degrees

with sun and blue skies. more of the same throughout weekend.

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morning. it's the 12th of september, 2012, and natalie is playing deejay for the morning. right now she's firing up our crowd with slow riders hit "wild ones." >> this gets me going. >> is it a great running song? >> great running song and workout song. >> better than slow riders slow. >> i like that, too. i like all of slow rider. >> we're going to hear more of natalie's choices throughout the morning. meanwhile ahead, americans spend more than $1 billion every year on fish oil supplements, but are

they virtually useless when it comes to improving your heart health in the new research you're going to want to hear if you've got some fish oil supplements in your refrigerator this morning. all right. also ahead, a simple cure for baldness right around the corner. coming up, the vitamin that's showing remarkable promise giving hope to millions of men and women and 100% of "today" show anchors. >> that's not nice. let me ask you a question, if they could make you grow hair back would you grow it or stay the way you are? >> me, too. a little more ground cover, but i would not go to the look from the 1980s. >> no. >> this is low maintenance. it's good. on a more serious note, the murder of his pregnant wife made headlines around the world. seven years later we're seeing the first images of scott peterson on san quentin's death row. we'll talk to the woman who took some of these photos and find out exactly why she was given that access. we'll begin this half hour with a "today" investigation. americans donated nearly $300 million last year, but how much of that money actually went to the charities?

if a telemarketer was involved, the answer is probably much less than you think. nbc's senior investigator correspondent lisa meyers explains. good morning. >> reporter: hey, savannah, good morning. next time you get a call from a telemarketer askinging for a donation to a charity or for helping to raise money in the neighborhood, you may want to think twice. documents reveal in campaigns for some of the biggest charities, most of the money actually ended up with the telemarketer. carol patterson had diabetes in her family so when her phone rang last year. >> hi, mrs. patterson, this is [ no audio ] calling on behalf of the american diabetes association. >> reporter: she agreed to help, distributing envelopes to neighborhoods and kicking in $20 herself. >> i thought most of it would go to the american diabetes association. >> reporter: but recently she was shown documents revealing that almost 80% of the money actually went to the telemarketer. how did you feel when you

learned that only 22% of the money had made it to the charity? >> just surprised, disappointment, almost some anger. >> reporter: she says she won't be volunteering for this anymore. >> you just feel like you are betrayed, and it's very upsetting. >> reporter: the telemarketer involved was infocision management which calls itself the highest quality call center in the world. an investigation by "bloomberg markets" magazine found that a who's who of 30 non-profits have hired infocision and failed to tell donors that telemarketers keep most of the money raised. >> we found in a four-year period they kept 55% of the money they raised. >> reporter: infocision is doing so well they could afford $10 million to put its rights on this stadium at the university of akron, now call infocision

stadium. susan said that her late husband george paid both the diabetes group and the american cancer society in their neighborhood. >> he thought he was doing a good thing. >> reporter: she was stunned to learn in the case of both groups documents indicate that most of the money raised went to the telemarketer. >> the american people are being duped into doing this, and the money isn't going where you think it's going. >> reporter: but listen to what potential donors were told when they asked about where their money would go. >> 75% of every dollar goes directly to serving people with diabetes and their families. >> well, how much do you guys keep? >> there's no breakdown as far as that is concerned. >> reporter: in fact, the contract for this program said only 15% would make it to the charity. professor jim copp says this is deceptive fund raising. >> this is not ethical. it's a representation that's false. >> reporter: but vanetta bennett of the american diabetes association says she has no regrets about using the

telemarketer. >> lisa, this program is such a teeny weenie part of what we do. it's about bringing more people into the organization. >> reporter: so you don't think any of this is misleading? >> i do not. >> reporter: not even when you know in this program that it stipulates in your contract that 85% of the money is going to a telemarketer. why not tell the donor that? >> well, because it's not really true. >> reporter: it is true. >> when you think about what the organization does. with this campaign, it is true, but that's not indicative of the organization and the good work we do. >> reporter: she says of the $205 million raised overall last year, most without telemarketers, 73% did go for diabetes research and programs. what do you say to donors who feel duped? >> i say thank you if you gave your gift. it's making a difference. every single penny makes a positive impact. >> reporter: but that doesn't satisfy carol or susan.

>> you find out more and more that what you think are good guys aren't the good guys anymore. >> reporter: the american cancer society says it has not engaged in unethical behavior but no longer uses infocision saying telemarketing campaigns are more expensive but that overall 72% of all its contributions went to fight cancer. infocision says it provides value and integrity to its clients, some who have been with the firm for more than two decades. savannah. >> lisa myers in our washington newsroom, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> today's weather is brought to you by the makers of emergen-c. >> rain in las vegas in the last 24 hours, 1 to 3 inches of flooding and you are falling. suddenly, boom, flash flooding, homes flooded out, businesses, power outages, a real mess.

that is over. they are finally getting a chance to do some clean up. we are seeing changes as far as our temperatures are concerned. a big ridge of high pressure to the east. to the west, a system dips. it's bringing cooler conditions to the plains. look at these temperatures anywhere from ten to 20 degrees below averages. as you get into the rockies and central plains. ahead of the front and the jet stream you can see temperatures anywhere from five to 15 degrees above normal. in fact, you'll see temperatures in the 70s and 80s. 90s, texas into the central plains. 70s and 60s in the pacific northwest. 90s in parts of southern california. that's what's going on around parts of the country. >> good morning, another chilly morning under a clear sky. i'm tom kierein. right now, 60 at reagan national. near the bay, it's 50 to near 60. elsewhere, upper 40s in much of the region. later today, climbing to 80.

lots of sun and blue skies. more of the same thursday, friday, saturday and sunday. next chance of rain, that may move in monday night and and that's your latest wet earth. matt? >> all right, al. thank you very much. now to a case that's gripped this face. it's been more than seven years since scott peterson was sentenced to death for the murders of his pregnant wife laci and unborn child. now we're getting the first look at his life on death row at california's san quentin prison: on christmas eve in 2002 laci peterson was reported missing from her modesto, california home, nearly eight months pregnant at the time. laci's husband scott peterson said he went fishing that day in san francisco, and when he returned home laci was gone. initial searches failed to find laci, but in april 2003 the remains of her unborn son washed ashore near where peterson told police he had gone fishing. laci's remains were found a day

later. peterson was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. at the time of his arrest he was carrying thousands of dollars in cash and several credit cards. he had also changed his appearance by dying his hair blond and growing a goatee. after a six-month trial a jury convicted peterson of killing laci and her unborn son and sentenced him to death, although peterson has always maintained his innocence. he remains on death row at san quentin state prison in california, and now these never-before-seen photos of peterson from just last june show a glimpse of his life inside. living at the largest death row in the country, peterson has his own cell identical to this one and is reportedly allowed to spend up to five hours a day outside of it, exercising or shooting hoops with other inmates. in july peterson's attorneys filed an appeal to the california supreme court alleging he did not have a fair trial. the appeal is expected to take years to resolve. nancy mulane is the journalist

who took those photos of scott peterson and her book is called "life after murder." good to see you. >> good morning. >> i want to emphasize right off the bat. your book has nothing to do with scott peterson so how did you end up in san quentin and get access to death row? >> i've been going inside san quentin since 2007 as a report because the first time i went inside san quentin, i was left alone in a room with men who had committed murder. it was a mistake. i wasn't supposed to be in the room, but i was by the public information officer, and the men i met in that room that day, men serving life sentences, unlike scott peterson who is serving a death sentence for committing murder. >> right. >> these men were serving life sentences with the possibility of parole. >> we want to talk about them in just a second. you go inside death row on that occasion. you have a camera obviously. you were allowed to take picture. what were the reactions from the inmates on death row? were they opposed to that? did they embrace you? how did they feel about you being there in. >> it's very interesting because there had been no reporters on death row in california in

almost a decade, so it took me years to build a relationship with the california department of corrections where they actually trusted me to be the first reporter to go in. >> and when you started taking these pictures, i think we should tell our viewers you did not realize were you capturing images of scott peterson. >> i didn't. it wasn't until two months later that i was actually reviewing the photographs, and i realized, oh, i think these are scott peterson. >> but you then did get a chance to see what his life is like on a daily basis, how he interacts with other prisoners and where he lives. what would you like to shed light on? >> well, i was inside death row for six hours. i interviewed inmates. i was allowed to walk up to their cell doors and talk to any inmates who were willing to talk to me. and it's a very confined environment. scott peterson is living in this -- in this tier, and then he has this one access to the roof. >> you mentioned this tier. it's my understanding that he was moved to a more prisoner-friendly sex of death

row, if there is such a thing. >> well, there's a larger death row. there are three death rows in san quentin. one is the adjustment center where problem death row inmates live. then there's east bloc where almost 600 live, and then there's this environment where scott peterson lives, and that's where 68 prisoners live. >> and did you have interaction with some of the prisoners. did you not speak to scott peterson. >> i did in the. >> he chose not to address new any way. these lifers that you actually wanted to write about, these are people who have committed these crimes, sentenced to life but with the chance of parole, though some have been paroled and some haven't, why do you think it's important we learn more about them? >> well, i think the men that i've met -- when you commit a murder, you can be given a death sentence, life without parole, or you can be given a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. that's the population that i have actually been studying for the last five years and reporting on. and what i have found is this is a population we don't know in prisons. you know, these are prisoners who are sentenced with the

possibility of parole. that means we as a society said you have the potential to change, but then they go behind the prison walls, and we never see them. >> and for those who are paroled, the challenges they face when they get back to a somewhat normal life, are what? >> well, they first have to be found suitable for parole. that means they have to go before a parole board, and only 10% in california are found each year eligible to be released. and even if they are found suitable for parole, in california the governor can reverse parole board decisions 150 days later, so over the last 22 years since we've had that law, we've seen somewhere between 75% and 99% of all parole board decisions be reversed by the governor, so getting out of california on a life with parole sentence, you actually have a greater chance of dying in prison on that sentence. >> interesting. >> but when they do get out, that's the population that i've been looking at. so my book, i wrote a book "life after murder," and it looks at this population that we don't know in the united states.

we don't know what people who commit a murder really are like after they have done the time, after they have done everything we've asked them to do. >> and would i say we need to know more about that. thank you, nancy, for sharing that. >> thanks for the opportunity. >> the book is called "life after murder." all for nothing. bad news for the millions of americans who take fish oil supplements every day to improve heart health. are they worth it right after this. ove dreamers. people and companies who take us places. excite our imagination. make life better. brighten our days. ♪ at jcpenney, we don't want to be another store. we want to be your favorite store. we're creating a whole new way to shop for the brands you love, at values you can believe in. and a bold new look that will look even better on you. ♪ keeping up with the kids is tough, so i drink emergen-c.

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back now at 7:46. this morning on today's health, the very popular supplement of fish oil used by millions touted for its ability to improve your heart health, among other things, but according to a new study in the "journal of the american medical association," it may not be as useful as you think. dr. mosca is the director of preventive cardiology at new york presbyterian hospital. good morning. >> good morning. >> this struck me as another one of those instances where you hear something is good for you, you get on the program and start taking those supplement and another study comes out and says, well, that doesn't really do much. what did this study find about fish oil? what's the bottom line? >> the bottom line is there's no benefit of the routine use of omega-3 fatty as kids. >> in terms of the supplements. >> we believe it's still important to eat fish on a regular basis. >> we'll get to the recommendations in a minute. are people essentially wasting their money if they are buying fish oil supplements and taking them?

>> i actually believe the vast majority of americans that are taking these supplements, not only fish oil supplements but other supplements, would be better served to use their money on a good fitness club membership. the science really does not support the universal use of these supplements. >> the study is a little bit confusing because on the one hand it says, okay, fish oil supplements, we looked at all these students. it does neither harm nor good, but there is evidence in the study that people taking the supplements suffered 9% fewer deaths and 11% fewer heart attacks so that's pretty good. >> right. we have to keep in mind that this study really combined a lot of studies from the past 20 years, and that small benefit that they observed was really due to older studies that were conducting in europe among men that had heart disease, and that was in an era where we didn't really have the standards of preventive care that we have today, and applying those results to today really may not be the case. >> a couple things. fish oil still good for you, for other things besides heart health. there are other benefits, right?

>> well, there euro's purported benefits, but the bottom line is the american heart association really only recommends that fish oils be considered in one situation, and that's really when you have high triglycerides or a cholesterol problem. >> whether it's fish oil or vitamin d or anything, i know you feel people should be getting in a naturally occurring mode, not out of supplements, right in. >> that's right. we have to keep in mind, savannah, there's no magic bullet. we're not here to tell people what they want to hear but what they need to hear. your mother was right. eat your fruits and vegetables, have a couple of servings of fish per week, get your regular exercise, don't smoke and watch your waistline. that's what will really give you a long and healthy wife. >> doctor, appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> just ahead, is a cure for baldness on the way? that answer just ahead. [ kate ] many women may not be properly absorbing

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7:56 is your time on this wednesday, september 12, 2012. good morning. a busy night for d.c. police. someone stabbed a man several times. they are looking for a person responsible for shooting a 16-year-old boy in the district. it happened just after 1:00. the teen is in serious, but

good morning, i'm tom kierein. we are in the low 60s around the metro area. near 80, lots of sun, low humidity. more of the same thursday all the way through the weekend. the next chance of rain may come tuesday. how is traffic? >> troubles in northeast. one lane gets you by the 3700 block of hayes street. north capital street is north at rigs road because of the crash there. anncr: this casino's in west virginia. but it makes millions off marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to build a... world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official department of legislative...

services, hundreds of millions for our schools. while saving taxpayer money by cutting casino subsidies. question seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia. 8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 12th day of september, 2012. picture perfect morning here in the northeast. by the way, deejay jazzy natalie is playing a little old school music for us here. we've got queen and david bowie, "under pressure," part of her play list that she goes to. >> great song. >> still to come, don't forget we still have that olivia newton john song that she's promised coming up later. meanwhile, out here on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and al roker.

>> what do we have coming up? >> well, coming up, there's a cure for baldness. >> well, wait, wait, wait. >> could be. a possibility. >> looking at it. >> al's excited. >> it could be right under your noses which for you could be pretty good. >> you went after me twice in one thing. the bald and the nose in one intro. >> left out the ear hair so that's good. >> actually, it is something that could be exciting news for millions of americans or people all around the world but men and women because, let's not forget, there are women who suffer from hair loss as well. >> absolutely. >> really exciting. also ahead, our special correspondent ryan seacrest is sitting down with justin bieber in an interview that airs tomorrow on "today." take a look. >> i just don't want to be another teen heartthrob because that's just -- i think that that just annoys me, to think that that's what people will think of me or like -- i just want to prove people wrong. >> justin opens up about that. we'll be hearing more about his

romantic side, also his mom is there, so that's tomorrow on "today." >> and, you know, a lot of us have our digital cameras and have great pictures. >> yeah. >> we never see them because they stay in the camera. martha stewart is here and she will show us great ways, practical ways, to show off the great digital photos that you may have taken this summer. >> by the way, you're not one of those people. you take all these pictures and present us with books from time to time which is really nice. >> slide show, a little music. >> appreciate that. >> let's go back into deejay natalie with a check of all the headlines this morning. natalie. >> good morning, matt, savannah and al good morning, everyone. violent protests overnight in libya and egypt have killed at least four americans, including the u.s. ambassador to libya. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in cairo with more. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there are still protests going on here in cairo, but they are now very small and very contained. you can see a line of egyptian security forces keeping just a few dozen protesters away from the u.s. embassy's main gate,

but the big news today, more information about what happens when a mob, an armed mob attacked a u.s. consulate in benghazi yesterday. the white house now confirming that the u.s. ambassador was among those killed. this ambassador, chris stevens, part of the new generation of american ambassadors, young, very popular, very active. according to libyan security officials, he was holed up in a room and died apparently from smoke inhalation. the libyan government today has apologized for the attacks offering its apologies to the united states, the american people and all the people of the world. >> richard engel in cairo with the developing story there. thanks so much, richard. factory fires in two major pakistani cities tuesday claimed more than 300 lives. officials say at least 289 bodies have been pulled from the charred ruins of a clothing factory in karachi, and a fire at a shoe factory in lahore left

at least 25 people there dead. apple unveils the latest version of its iphone in san francisco today. the iphone 5 is expected to work with 4g cellular networks, a capability that many cell phone rivals already have, and there's speculation that it will have a bigger screen, will be slimmer in design and have a better camera lens. jpmorgan's chief economist says sales could actually be big enough to give a noticeable boost to the nation's gdp. meantime, facebook ceo mark zuckerberg is denying that facebook is developing its own smartphone. he said it is clearly the wrong strategy for facebook whose stock has lost nearly half of its value since the company's initial public offering in may. now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian. >> hey, natalie, good morning. with so much education in the news, as part of our focus at any time on "nightly news," we're going to talk about role models in the classroom, a program that brings dads and grandfathers into school.

teachers are giving it a big grade. we'll have that for you. it's our "making a difference" segment tonight. natalie, for now, back to you. >> all right, thanks, brian. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup what has you talking online. social security's list of the most popular baby names for 2011 has a lot of love for twilight. jacob was the top boy's choice while isabella was number two for the girls, but for a name with staying power, only a name fit for a prince will do. william was the only name to crack the top five in 2011 and going back to 1911. just in time for oktoberfest, the red robin chain has unveiled a new beer milkshake, yes, that's right. it combines ice cream and flavored syrup with sam adams draft. and a plea for this obese daschund who you see here today. he ballooned to 77 pounds because his previous owners

showed him a bit too much love by overfeeding him. after all works could say no to that little face. thanks to his new foster mom lost already 6 pounds and has 30 to go before he's down to a healthy wiener dog wait. more with obey and the foster mom coming up shortly. now six minutes past hour. back out to matt and savannah. >> that's really sad. >> on the road to recovery. >> we're going to talk to his foster mom in just a little bit. >> all right. >> and we've got some nice folks here. it's blue shirt day. what is it? >> hi. we're out here promoting october 1st is blue shirt day, world day bullying day of prevention, and we'll all wear our blue shirts in solidarity. >> on october 1st. >> making it the day of bullying prevention. >> good idea. thank you very much. le >> thank you very much. let's see what we have for you for the pick city of the day. it happens to be flint, michigan. nbsz 25, mid michigan's best. 87 degrees today. that front is going to move through and change the

temperatures. the front right now stretching from minnesota back down into the rockies. ahead of it, we have warm air. temperatures in the 80s. 88 in chicago today. 73 in southern south dakota. look for 72 in seattle. a beautiful day today. showers and thunder showers in southern florida. a beautiful day today. we have a lot of new 3-year-old. what's your name? >> this is lily. hi. >> happy birthday. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, this morning under a blue sky with sparkling sunshine. the temperatures are stil rather chilly. 62 at reagan national. it's only in the low 50s throughout the region including montgomery and prince george's county. with the sun we warm to 80. low humidity. beautiful weather continuing. warm afternoon, cool mornings.

monday and tuesday could get passing showers. that's and that's your latest weather. savannah. >> thanks, al. coming up next, a potential cure for baldness right around the corner? we'll have that story coming up right after this. ♪ i love cash back. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on...

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check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. [ female announcer ] with depression, simple pleasures can simply hurt. the sadness, anxiety, the loss of interest. the aches and pains and fatigue. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines,

including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. simple pleasures shouldn't hurt. talk to your doctor about cymbalta. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. we're back now at 8:11 with a potential new hope for millions of americans bedeviled by baldness. here's nbc's craig melvin. >> reporter: in recent years, screen stars and athletes have embraced the inevitable, making chrome domes cool. and now there's the dashing royal landing a beautiful princess despite his thinning hair. colin watson is bald and proud.

scott evans started shaving it 15 years ago. >> once you go bald, you don't go back. >> reporter: but not every member of the bald brotherhood is happy about losing their hair. doctors like mark dauer perform more than 1,000 hair replacement surgeries a year. >> what i see in my patients is when we can restore the hair, in the only does it make them feel better about themselves, but it restores their self-confidence. >> reporter: but at an average cost of between $8,000 and $12,000, hair restoration surge have i too expensive for many. many turn to popular drugs like propecia and row gain. soon though some hope there may be another option. >> this research that we've come up with is fantastic news for us. >> reporter: recently japanese scientists figured out how to grow human hair on hairless mice. scientists discovered there's a nutrient that seems to awaken the receptors and follicles that shot down in hair loss, that nutriien and possible cure for

baldness, vitamin d. >> i don't think it's the level of vitamin d. it's how the vitamin d is being handled by the receptors in the follicles that may be part of the reason why we lose our hair when we get older. >> reporter: that's cause for cautious optimism. >> in the next few years we'll have many other options that ultimately one day will make hair loss a voluntary thing. >> if they could do it, i'd think about it, but they got to convince me first. i'm a non-believer. >> reporter: some are skeptical about a miracle cure. others don't see the need. >> i choose to stay bald. i'm comfortable. i like the look. my wife likes the look. i'm good. >> i like his look, too. that was nbc's craig melvin. dermatologist susan taylor joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> people who have lost their hair or dare i say a cure, let's understand about what exactly causes people to lose hair. >> sure. many different causes of hair loss, but the bottom line is that there are three phases of hair growth, the anagen or

growth face, that can last two to five years but there's a sleeping phase. that's only supposed to last weeks or months, but sometimes it becomes permanent, and that can lead to ballotness. >> so the follicle goes to sleep. >> that's right. >> and what is it about vitamin d that can actually reawaken that follicle? >> well, what scientists have found is that vitamin d and the receptors, so that you can think of the receptor as a lock. vitamin d is the key that fits into the lock, and that seems to cause hair to grow, and also can help generate stem cells. those are cells that can turn into follicles to form. >> did this research indicate whether vitamin d might one day be more effective than things like row gain and propecia and other drugs? >> well, row gain and propecia they prevent further hair loss. well, the hope is with vitamin d and activating the receptor, turning the receptor on to grow hair, that we can either cure hair or take a bald scalp and

grow hair. >> what are we suggesting, that one day there will be an ointment of vitamin d, or are we going to be ingesting it? how will we get it into our systems? >> we're not quite sure, so right now all the science is done in the lab. it's done in animals and cell cultures. we'll have to wait and see if it's vitamin d that will activate the receptors or the compounds, something that activates the resomors. >> a lot of bald men who want their hair back. are we suggesting that you'll at one point get the vitamin d in your system and you'll start sprouting hair again, or will this take years, months. >> >> we don't know. we don't know. we hope it's a potential cure, but there's much work to be done to translate what we've learned in the lab to humans. >> just a fun fact for our friends without hair. you lose about 100 hairs from your scalp every single day. >> every single day.

>> that's right. >> which means in about two and a half weeks i'm mr. clean. that's good. doctor, thank you. nice to see you. >> thank you. up next, martha stewart shares some creative uses for your family's summer photos. that's right after this. [ music playing ]

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♪ back now at 8:20. this morning "martha on today," her picture project. don't know what to do with all the photos you took over the summer. martha has some ideas and those ideas can be found in the latest

edition of "martha stewart living." . great ideas for the digital edge. >> people are collecting thousands of those images on their cameras and little picture sticks and you better do something with them. >> no one ever sees all the cute pictures you take. >> don't throw away your full memory card. keep them. just keep them because you may want to refer to one of those pictures. another thing to do with your beautiful summer imagery is to iron on some images on to tote bags. >> cute idea. >> make great gifts. >> how do you pull this off? >> you print your pictures on this wonderful on iron-on transfer paper, an avery product can you find in any craft store and make the image like this. this is me on my horse. >> how cute. >> and then you iron on to the back of a bag. >> okay. >> now, this is a great tote bag. >> now, should you be at maximum hotness on your iron? >> it should be hot, and do you this for about a minute. we're already ironed so we don't have to watch me iron, and then you pull this off. >> immediately. >> and such a gorgeous image.

that's me and my friend dan having lunch out on the terrace in maine. >> you pick up the green. >> and this one is baby jude holding her first sand dollar. >> adorable. a pretty easy one. i feel like this one has a higher degree of difficulty. >> this is a little harder but this is making beautiful picture blocks using imagery, nice as paper weights on your table or your desk and paint the black. you get this little box of wood from woodworks limited and paint them white, and then you use this fantastic soft gelled medium, and you paint on top, you can do this one. paint on top. >> this is soft gel what? >> soft gel medium, and it allows you to transfer imagery from paper to something like this block. this has to stay on here for one hour.

then you take the picture and you'll you a ply it to the block. put the soft gel medium right on the block here. >> and then you apply your picture face-side down. >> let this sit on for an hour. >> this is an hour, okay. this stays on here just like that for one hour. use this little tool, burnisher to make sure you get it flat. >> there it is. it's been on one hour. wet it with your wet paper towel like this. >> why do you do that? >> the only way to get the paper off easily without ripping off the imagery. >> oh, okay. >> and then just peel off the paper part. >> it comes off. >> okay. >> and you're left with -- >> you'll just have to trust us. it's a very beautiful imagery. >> and this is nice just to make a photo collage out of round pictures. really focusing on the people, on the places, and you have a very pretty picture of the back of a boat.

>> how do we get the circles? >> this is a circle cutter. now hold this ring down, one of our craft projects which i think is one of the most brilliant because it allows you to cut. press very gently and slowly around and around. it's a circle cutter. it allows you to make any size circles, all these little holes. >> i think i've got it. >> lift this up, and you have a perfect circle. >> oh, you do. >> i kind of do. >> yes, you did it perfectly. >> ta-da. >> so these get applied with a guy on to a picture like that. >> and in 30 seconds, that is no-glue scrapbook. >> a little pocket where you can put your pictures and write your imagery and put pictures in a jar and all the things you collect on vacation. >> ticket stubs, anything fun. >> kids love this. it's a very nice way to take the things that you've collected and display them and not forget your vacation. >> good hostess gift, too.

martha stewart, you're so clever and crafty. thank you so much. >> thank you. now let's get special birthday wishes from our friend willard scott. hey, willard. >> what a sight, what a spot, take a look at the washington national cathedral and it's on the highest elevation of land in this area. god bless. we're here doing birthdays. happy birthday to hugo, you son of a gone. beautiful hugo warns of baltimore, maryland. you can see top of baltimore from the top of the cathedral, 100 years old. secret to longevity, a little bourbon and chasing women. isn't that something. overland park, kansas, over that way near the mississippi river. anyway, sarah zeldin is 100 years old today, and she's had so many wonderful things, very active in charity and her church work. good old gordon. i love that name. gordon bohler of lenox, georgia,

104 years old today. loves to spend time singing and praying. that's a combination you can't go wrong. mary davis of lewisburg, tennessee is 105, and her husband was a fireman for so many years and finally, recently some of the guys took her for a ride on the fire truck on her 100th birthday. ever been with the dog, the dalmatians and ole those spots? joe just got back from the rodeo show. joe lamping of medford, oregon, is 100 years old today, and he loves to build things. as a matter of fact, he built the house he still lives in to this day. that's an art, a skill. i can't even write my name. mary jo, how beautiful she is, mary jo hammond, huntington west virginia, 100 years old today, loves watching baseball and having an occasional whiskey sour. just don't run out of oranges. that's it. that's all from the cathedral. now back to new york. >> all right, willard. thanks.

just ahead, howie mandel will be here to give us a preview of the "america's got talent" finale. there he is. >> with a preview. >> and it's natalie's song what. are you hanging out. what are you playing? >> "hey momma." it's a fun song. 8:26 on this wednesday, september 12th. montgomery county police rescued several animals after a woman was found dead inside her home. she died of natural causes. officers found ten small dogs in the home. three animals did not survive.

good morning. if you have been suffering from allergy symptoms, no doubt it's due to the increased amount of pollen in the air. they are in the high range and will be for days because of the dry weather. warm afternoon and cool mornings. low humidity into the weekend. the next chance of rain monday night into tuesday. danel danella, how is traffic? >> delays start around 85.

solid past shady grove as you connect to the gateway road. also slow is i-66 from fairfax to the beltway. very slow. very slow. back to your, this message. experiences classrooms. sizes don't matter... by 20%. teaching to some test... he personally cannot relate to. education, children.

♪ xanadu >> yes, finally the song we've been waiting for. >> wednesday, september 12th, 2012. sunny here in manhattan. our guests have been enjoying the musical styling of natalie morales. >> why do you love this song? >> you know, this brings back

memories. "xanadu" a cult favorite film of mine. it's fun. ♪ xanadu >> 1980," xanadu," 1980s. >> by the way, more music friday when korean pop sensation psy brings his "gangnam style" right here to today. get ready for the dance moves you've been practicing. >> the giddy-up show. >> that's friday morning on today. >> everybody limbered up. >> i like that move. that's my favorite move. >> i'm not sure can i do that one. >> what else is happening? >> it's going to be funny. >> we're going to go to the kitchen with mark. who doesn't love short bread. >> love it. >> mark is going to show us the different ways can you prepare it. i cannot wait, man. >> this is kind of a serious note because we also have the

dog obie inside, the little daschund who is not so little. very overweight, and he's now battling to shed some of those unwanted pounds so we'll talk to his new foster mom who has put him on a diet. >> we'll check in on that, and first hello to howie mandel of "america's got at all end." hi, howie. >> good to see you. >> we're not touching hands. >> no germs have been -- >> here i am on fashion week. >> and looking so fashionable. >> zippers. >> back-to-school pants. >> very nice. >> let's talk about the competition. the viewers that pick, but do you have a favorite or someone who you think has the line in? >> i do. the guy who plays the earth harp is the guy i put my money on, if i had to invest. i don't think the audience is -- i think the audience is going to go with the dogs or tom kotter because it's easier for them to connect with a human being or cute dogs. >> i liked that act.

>> i've been tweeting live and i sense that that's how america is going. >> are you getting a cents that your fellow judges share your opinion on this after a year? have you gotten a pretty good sense for where your tastes are similar and different? >> absolutely, yes. >> howard and i are, you know, we agree and we respect each other and we also disagree, you know. >> on this decision? >> no. i think that we all see -- you kind of get a sense. i tweet live during the show @howiemandel, but i can sense, can i see. last week when the untouchables, the little girl group, you know, the little kids. >> the dancer. >> phenomenal dancer. when she broke down crying at end i lacked at my twitter, oh, my god, oh, my god, got to vote for the little girl. saw the sentiment change. i'm thinking it will be tom kotter because he makes people laugh or the adorable little dogs because everybody loves dogs. >> looking ahead to next season, you'll be back. what about sharon os bourne with

the whole thing blowing up there? >> i've heard what you heard, but i hope she would come back, i don't know, but i -- i heard what you heard. you know howard, is howard coming back? >> if you come back and sharon comes back, he'll come back. >> oh, wow. >> really? >> right here. >> i have no idea. he doesn't share that. >> he hasn't made a decision. i fly in from l.a. every week, and five-hour flight, get off the flight, show up, do the show. he comes from here and goes, boy, this traffic is killing me. >> you never complain. >> that really wasn't a complaint. >> i love it. can you believe this is a job? >> a pretty cool show. >> feel like i got a bad turnout for my summer concert series. >> you're going to stick around with us at the top at 9:00. >> help us with our "take 3." >> you're making it clear that i have no place to go. nothing to do but tonight. the final tonight. everybody's got to tune n.tweet me live. this is the finale. >> let me get it straight. do you tweet live?

>> yes. >> i'm kidding that. >> my twitter handle. >> @howiemandel. >> will you tweet us? >> i've got six followers, i'm looking for eight. >> come on, everybody. >> howie mandel, season finale tonight. 9:00. ou. >> mr. howie mandel, season fi. see you tonight. >> that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your. >> good morning. still a chill in the air around the region this morning. just past 8:30, we are in the 50s. a rapid warm up should be moving on in. by noontime, mid-70s. bright and sunny day. we'll repeat this tomorrow. friday and saturday more clouds around as well as sunday and monday. the next chance of rain appears to be monday eveni don't forget, can you check that weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online and if you don't like that weather,

tweet me @alroker. >> coming up, dr. due pinsky is here to talk about his show that helps ordinary people overcome addiction. but first this is "today" on nbc. [ romney ] this president can ask us to be patient. this president can tell us it was someone else's fault. but this president cannot tell us that you're better off today than when he took office. [ female announcer ] here in virginia, we're not better off under president obama. his defense cuts threaten over one hundred thirty thousand jobs, lowering home values, putting families at risk. the romney plan? tax cuts for middle class families. north american energy independence. create over three hundred forty thousand new jobs for virginia. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approved this message. and those well grounded.

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back now at 8:38. for five seasons dr. drew pinsky has helped celebrities overcome addiction on his vh-1 show, and now he's taking on the challenge of healing eight ordinary people. >> i feel if i don't get help i'm dead. >> i'm asking you to save my life. >> save my mommy. >> i'm an alcoholic. i need help. i don't want to be like this. this is horrible. >> i'm at home and in pain. >> dr. drew pinsky is in charge of treatment on "rehab with dr. crew" and mary ann's son michael has received treatment on the show. good morning to both of you.

>> good morning. >> these are normal people who battle addiction just as much. is the treatment think different for celebrities? >> treatment is exactly the same. in my day in and day out career that's what i've done, celebrities sprinkled throughout. addiction is a disease that affects everybody. it cuts across all classes, all ethnicities. it's really to me the medical problem of our time. >> you linkened yourself to an oncologist saying basically addiction is like cancer in its seriousness. >> if you have a bad enough addiction the prognosis is worse. you're probably dying. if you need to see me, it's higher than the significant majority of cancers, and it's like the oncologist. you do the best you can. the frustrating thing about this disease though is if people continue and stay in treatment, they are going to do well. the sad thing is they drift away. it's like a diabetic refusing to take their insulin, things go bad. >> and the show does not paint a pretty picture of addiction. >> not a pretty disease. it's a tough disease. >> how serious are the folks in

treatment on the show? >> these people had to find their way on to the show in spite of them being sick and their disease, and they really want a treatment, and they were really in need of treatment. it's exciting. you may see me say on the show i'm so excited because we can really help these people. they need us. >> talk to me about your son because i read his background. he sounds like a great kid and not somebody you who expect to develop what he said was a 40 a bag a day heroin. >> started with prescription painkillers which is a very big problem across the country now, and basically you're surprised, but my son is everyone else's son out there. it's a stigma. it's not -- it's your boy next door. it's your athletic children, and that's a big problem. the parents are not educated to even think that their child, this so-called perfect child can do this, and it barrels out of control. it's not like when we were

young. it's not having a beer. it's pills and pills and pills, and then they go to the heroin because instead of $30 a pill, it's $5 a bag and pretty much the same substance. >> and how is he doing now? >> he's actually doing really well now. thank good for the opportunity. >> must be hard though. it's an opportunity, and i know you worked so hard. almost lost your house trying to get treatment for him and if it provides treatment on the other hand, here he is on national television bearing all. >> i'm okay with it. if he can save a life out there, i'm on -- i'm on board. you know what? i know in the end he'll make me shine because he truly is a wonderful kid, made some bad choices and went down the wrong road. >> this is what you're watching footage of now. a great kid. denise brings up two great points. parents will say not my kid. scariest thing you can say. i'm sure you said it. >> absolutely. >> pills, pills, pills, i don't care if they get on them because they had an orthopedic injury.

pills is the way kids get going. >> it's the new gateway drug. >> it's the gateway and it's the killer. it's both. >> what do you think, dr. drew, about this experience? i mean, obviously those who are in treatment benefit from the treatment. >> yeah. >> but do you think being on camera and having this national exposure? >> yeah. >> is good for their treatment? >> well, it's much to our amazement the cameras and doing it publicly has been good for people who went through it. the celebrities felt sort of like they wanted to be an example for other people, motivated them to stay sober. this is a new experience doing it with not celebrities and they are anxious about being on camera. we did this six months ago and they are all in treatment. six to eight are in treatment, all sober and doing remarkably well, but what they need is a year of treatment, and we're making sure they get that. >> that's good to here. denise, thank you for sharing your story. >> and "rehab with dr. drew" premiers this sunday night on vh-1. coming up next, a much lighter note, an easy baking

♪ we're back now at 8:44 with "how to cook everything today." this morning we're baking short bread cookies. mark's recipe is in the current recipe of the "new york times" mag scene. mark is also the author of "how to cook everything, the basics" and 340 other books. >> 341. >> short bread in its most basic form is a cookie, what is it? >> it is a cookie and a very short cookie, and short means lots of fat. >> why does short mean lots of fat? >> some old english thing, don't want to go there, like etymology. >> one of the things i notice is if you're making basic shortbread, very few ingredients. >> really what it is is butter and sugar held together by as little flour as you can manage to turn it into a cookie so that what you're tasting is butter and sugar. >> the recipe is really easy. >> the whole thing is really easy. >> okay.

creamed butter. we add some sugar. >> fair amount of sugar. >> and an egg yolk, and there's some salt in here, too. >> okay. i like these a little bit salty. just that tiny bit of saveriness is great. and then you cream that a little more. cream the sugar with the butter. obviously a standing mixer makes this very easy, and when that's mixed, you add a little at a time, and we'll try to do it a little at a time because i think we have time for that. you add a mixture of flour and corn starch and the reason you use -- >> the consistency you are looking for flaky and light like dense that i had some in london, pretty dense. >> pretty dense, because there's a lot of fat in there. it's really an excuse to eat butter, really an excuse to be eating butter. the reason you add a little corn starch is because what you want is to develop as little gluten as possible. you don't want any toughness. you want it to be as tender as

it can be. >> all right. >> so once we have the basic recipe, now you can actually get a little bit more creative and add some different flavors, and have you some examples of those here. >> you can obviously add -- if you add pecans you have pecan sandies, so any kind of nuts, make savory shortbreads so olive oil and rosemary and parmesan and black pepper. this is a paper towel and poppy seed with a little bit of lemon. espresso and chocolate, anything you can, and your favorite here, coconut and lime. >> i'm not a big coconut fan. >> but if you're adding different flavors, especially the savories, do you change the recipe? >> stays the same. >> adding olive oil, cut the butter by a little bit but stays the same. >> now you have your shortbread dough. how do you work it? >> you have the dough and it into a long and get fancier and shape it into a triangle. feel that, i mean, it's really

hard. >> if you have a -- a log, like this, and then you can just cut cookies, youno know, real like the mixes you pie in a store, and these are keep in the freezer forever. >> you can do the circular log as well. >> or can you roll it out. >> need to soften it a bit before you roll it out and cut it with a knife like that or use a cookie cutter. >> all right. you put it on a baking pan, a creased baking pan? >> because there's so much butter in here you don't need any -- you don't need any more grease. >> how long does it cook? >> 20 minutes or so, 15 even. >> here's what they look like when they are done, and then you add a little more zest to them. >> another thing you can do is melt some chocolate, and just dip like that, and that will set up in ten minutes, or you can fridge rate that and beautiful. >> you know what the best way to eat them is, just plain? >> i like the plain ones, too. >> you should try one of the savory once.

>> mark bittman, good to see you. >> thanks, matt. we'll be back with much more, including obie, the 77-pound daschund on a quest to lose weight, but first, this is "today" on nbc. anncr: this casino's in west virginia. but it makes millions off marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to build a... world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official department of legislative... services, hundreds of millions for our schools. while saving taxpayer money by cutting casino subsidies. question seven. good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia.

good jobs and better schools in maryland. not west virginia. mitt romney's position onpprove women's health...it's dangerous. vo:mitt romney and paul ryan would get rid of planned parenthood funding. and allow employers to deny coverage for cancer screenings and birth control. we can't afford to let him take away our choices... to take away basic health care. vo: both backed proposals to outlaw abortions...even in cases of rape and incest. i don't think that women's health issues have faced a crisis like this in decades. back now at 8:50 with a modern marvel. the city beneath the city here in new york. nbc's willie geist rolled up his sleeves to find out what it

takes to expand new york city's massive subway system. willie, good morning to you. >> rolled up my sleeves and put on a hard hat as i think you'll be entertained to see in a moment. as new yorkers go about their hectic leaves this morning, deep beneath their feet on the city's east end is a mile of tunnels and army of construction workers pulling off a staggering feat. operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week and carrying more than 5 million passengers every weekday, the subterranean world is as busy as the crowded streets above. the subway system first opened in 1904, but the planned second avenue expansion has been delayed again and again by financial constraints and a world war. this 30-year engineer is the president for the mta capital construction group and the man running this gigantic operation. i'm thinking about the scope of this project. what's the first thing you do? >> make sure that people

understand what you're doing. >> reporter: construction of a new two-track subway line on manhattan's east side has meant disruptions of entire neighborhoods with years of drilling and blasting. >> i started to go from store to store. we set up meetings with stakeholders in neighborhoods, and it took a while. >> reporter: can you show me around downstairs. >> absolutely. >> reporter: where are we standing right now? what will this look like four years from now? >> right now we are at the end of the 72nd street station, about 69th street. let's walk down. >> okay. this was nothing but rock when you started. when did it begin to take shape? how long does that take? >> at the very beginning as we go in behind the machine, the tunnel boring machine, will you see the immediate results. >> reporter: this boring machine powers through the rock to make the tunnel. it's a massive piece of

equipment. at 850 feet long, the head alone weighs more than 200 tons and cuts a hole 22 feet in diameter. how fast does the boring machine move? >> the boring machine, if you have good ground, can do about 100 feet a day. >> reporter: but some of the ground is too soft, so believe it or not, they actually freeze the ground to keep it from collapsing as the machine cuts its path. how do you freeze the ground? >> well, what we did is we put pipes into the ground, aluminum pipes, and then you put inside another pipe and you put a brine. we froze the ground up to about minus 30, to minious 40 fahrenheit. once that is solid can you go with the machine screw and bore it like a rock >> reporter: foundations of all the buildings surrounding the projects had to be inspected before digging could begin. >> we had to survey all of the buildings beforehand it make sure that they would withstand

the vibration, so many of the buildings we fixed. >> reporter: my gosh, what are we looking at here? >> dr. h leads me to a breathtaking underground cavern the size of a basketball arena that's been cleared to make space for the future 72nd street station. >> now look at this afternoon, right? >> reporter: immense. after a ride back up the elevator we head uptown to a site that's just starting to blast out rock below the street w.explosives in place, traffic is stopped, the warning horatio -- warning hornblows and then i was ready to head down with the crowd but first loose and limber. i descend into the hole with a little adult supervision. we heard the blasts upstairs and now we're down here in the hole. this is what we were blastinging right? >> that's correct, willie. we need to spray water on it

part of keeping the dust down for community. >> reporter: this is what they have entrusted me with, a rubber hose. i wanted heavy equipment. they give me a garden hose. after a couple of minutes spraying down the dust like a pro i asked my boss for a promotion. not for nothing, but i think i'm pretty good with this hose. >> you are good. >> reporter: ready for the front loader, right? >> i'm going to put a request in for that. that's as far as can i tell snow put in the paperwork? i won't hold my breath. still waiting for that paperwork to go through. the first phase of this extraordinary project expected to be finished though not until december 201. a lot of people have talked about disruptions to businesses in the neighborhood. the selling point for these guys is we're creating access to your stores and businesses, if you can hang in there with us for a few years, this is going to be a revitalized neighborhood. >> by the way, want to kiss me right on the lips. >> the bob the builder look for you. >> like that. >> the village people called. >> you can't see it on tv, i have a giant melon.

they couldn't find a helmet to fit me. >> really, you have a big head. >> vents noticed. >> willie geist, thank you. >> just ahead, one-minute do-it-yourself home fix-it. >> but first more from natalie's go-to play list. >> ub40 "red, red wine." go-to play list. 8:56 is your time now on this wednesday. good morning, i'm eun yang. this morning, nearly 200 police cruisers are off the streets in montgomery county. the crown victorias are being tested for steering problems.

there have been two cases where the steering had a problem.

good morning. i'm storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. approaching 9:00, temperatures are mid-60s in washington and near the bay. elsewhere, upper 60s. later today, near 80 with sunshine and low humidity. more of the same for the weekend. how is traffic? >> jammed in our area. 395 is jammed from the beltway past the pentagon to the 14th street bridge. you are just about 11 miles per hour. also out of the beltway, college

and we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning. it's the 12th day of september, 2012. another song from natalie's go-to playlist, playing right now. that is "every tear drop is a waterfall" from coldplay. >> turn it up. >> i know natalie has liked coldplay for a while. >> that's a good one. >> we like this, natalie. >> a good one. >> i know. >> we dgive your playlist two

thumbs up, absolutely. >> your playlist, been criticizing ours all week. >> i liked al's. >> well, anyway, tomorrow, i'll have my revenge. your playlist, a selection you picked. what is it? >> this is "somebody i used to know," probably the most current song on my playlist. >> okay. >> most of them are from like 1922. >> exactly. >> that's tomorrow here on "today." meanwhile, what else do we have coming up? >> did you say you discovered this song? >> no, but you came into the makeup room one day saying i've got a new song, it's fantastic, and i'd had it on my ipad for about eight weeks. >> we'll talk about a little bit later. song ran out and we were still bickering. what's coming up, al? >> so sad you had to see that, and you, too america. >> we could still be bickering after "hey, jude." >> steals and deals on everything from music to clothes and so much more, and, of

course, we've got obie, obie the daschund who is overweight, so far overweight, but the good news is he's starting to lose with a new foster mom, and hopefully we'll get him healthy. >> needs exercise and get him on a healthy path. >> howie mandel is inside and joining us again at the top of this hour. first let's go back inside to natalie with a check of the headlines good morning, everyone. president obama this morning condemned the overnight attack on the u.s. consulate in libya that killed american ambassador chris stevens along with three american members of his staff. a senior defense official tells nbc news there is no indication that any u.s. marines are among the dead or wounded. anti-american protesters have also gathered for a second day outside the u.s. embassy in cairo, egypt. the protests in both countries were apparently triggered by a privately produced american video that denounces islam. president obama has ordered increased security for u.s.

diplomats around the world. the white house says president obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu reaffirmed their commitment to keep iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. the two leaders spoke by hour by phone. netanyahu has been urging the u.s. and other nations to set what he called clear red lines for iran. chicago's school system is as the teachers union and school district negotiators failed to reach an agreement tuesday night. the union says a deal is still a long way off, but teachers are getting support on the picket lines as parents are joining in. a new book from the italian boyfriend of amanda said he and knox attracted strange behavior after the murder back in 2007. both served four years in an italian prison for kircher's

murder but were acquitted last fall. apple unveils the latest version of its iphone in san francisco today. the iphone 5 is expected to work with 4g cellular networks, a capability many cell phone rivals already have. there is speculation that it will have a bigger screen, slimmer design and a better camera lens. jpmorgan's chief economist says the sales could be big enough to give a noticeable boost to the nation's gdp. and we're getting our first look at baby edward duke rancic, the 2-week-old is son to proud mom and dad bill and giuliana rancic. he's got his mommy's dimples, and says they are feeling blessed beyond words. it is day two of the duke and duchess of cambridge tour in south asia and every one of the couple's moves is being closely watched. nbc's sarah james is in singapore. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie.

will and kate had a packed schedule in blistering heat but the hottest question of the day wasn't on the itinerary. it was the question of when this popular pair might be starting a family. >> kate, you're great. >> reporter: an enthusiastic welcome for the duke and duchess of cambridge. hundreds of fans braved scorching temperatures to bask in reflective royal glory as will and kate toured a manmade oasis in the center of singapore's sophisticated high rises. >> i shook her hand. i was so happy. >> we've been here since 5:30 in the morning. we were the first two here. >> reporter: will and kate repaid those early birds with a certainly touch, a wave here, handshake there, kate eye level with pint-sized fans. >> she was wearing a white dress. >> reporter: but alexandra mcqueen, as it turns out, but who is to say who her next designer might be.

>> i would like to design a dress for her. >> reporter: when it comes to kate and will fashion is far from the only focus. royal watchers scrutinize everything the couple say and do, from william overheard responding to someone in the crowd that he'd like to have two children, to kate's choice not to drink wine during toasts tuesday night. >> kate was at the state banquet, and she drank water what she toasted the speeches. the treat is she had been on a long haul flight and doesn't really drink that much. >> reporter: one sip of water enough to really unleash the latest flood of baby buzz rumors. >> the palace is saying her drinking water, should not read too much into it. >> reporter: wednesday the main children in the spotlight at this special needs school. the duchess keen to view their art therapy approach. >> had a sprint of that magic dust certainly. >> reporter: those in this financial mecca hope that magic dust can also turn to dollars, like this aircraft engine facility operated by rolls royce, the royals are a powerful team and a powerful brand.

indeed, one magazine recently estimated the worth of the monarchy brand at $70 billion. it certainly is true when it comes to gaining interest and attention, this couple has the midas touch. natalie. >> that they do. sarah james in singapore for us. thank you. we're going to be talking more about the royals coming up in a moment. it is now seven minutes past the hour. let's turn it over to al with a check of the weather. hey, al. >> thanks so much, natalie. as we check out what we've got going on today. a ce check out what we have going on today, a cold front is bringing big changes. you can see on the radar, it's from minneapolis all the way down to the southwest. this big system is causing a lot of rain anywhere from one to four inches between omaha to all the way down to albuquerque. another big change caused by the front, ahead of it warm air. temperatures 80s and 90 ds. behind it, temperatures fall anywhere from ten to 20 degrees into the upper 60s to the low

70s. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> still cool. all the areas in the light green are in the 60s. the dark green areas still the 50s throughout parts of virginia, west virginia and into the mountains. reagan national at 66. we'll have a rapid warm up with the strong september sun near 80. lots of sun, a blue sky. low humidity, we'll repeat this on thursday, friday, saturday and sunday. highs near 80 each day. lows and that's your latest weather. natalie. >> all right, al. thank you. this morning on today's "take 3" we're sharing our thoughts on hot topics and some help today from "america's got talent's" howie mandel. how are we doing? >> i think we're doing fine. >> i didn't mean to do that. >> very exciting day. finals tonight, 9:00 live. >> i know. >> don't miss it. >> and twitter handle again. >> @howiemandel.

i'll talk to you. i want to do the "take 3" thing, started watching it yesterday. >> a lot of us who are parents have certainly had our not so fine parenting moments, and we saw one that sparked a lot of outrage around the world. there was a british mom, she's actually a journalist and a model, who was out with her baby in a stroller, 5-month-old baby in a stroller. her name is beaches geldoff, didn't have a peachy moment though. on the phone as the stroller hits a pothole. the baby falls out of the stroller. >> the phone did not fall. >> the phone stays glued to the ear so that's one of those moments where a lot of people are like drop the cell phone, pick up the child. >> you're assuming from a picture that you know what was going on. >> exactly. >> she could have been on the phone minutes before that going listen, i want to drop the baby in a pothole, can you tell me where one is? to the left, to the right, the left, the right? got it. thank you so much. you don't know. don't judge. >> don't read the picture. that is a good point, that you

don't want to judge, because as i saw, that people on twitter were ferocious. >> of course. >> shocker. >> but she's somebody the paparazzi are staking her out, and so they have caught that very bad moment where she was -- just happened to have the phone here, but she took care of the child. the child is fine. >> right. >> nobody worry. >> we've all had this. we've all had moments. >> no, i've been perfect. >> a-ha. >> can i get examles. >> my son doing his homework last night and i was getting a little frustrating, like, josh, how -- you raise the voice. >> drop him in a pothole? >> no. >> you raise the volume a little bit more than i should have or even once at a target when one of my children was having a total meltdown, i had a cart full of stuff and i just picked up my child and walked out and left the cart. bye, target. get him out of there. i was just so embarrassed. >> my kid was in high school, one of my daughters was in high school, and i'm very conservative, you know. i went into a room. >> you? >> i went into a room and i found a film canister filled

with what i believed was marijuana, and i went to the school and went to the principal, called her out of the office, took her home, dragged her out of the class, put the canister down and i said what is this, young lady, and she said my fish food. >> oh, no, and i said that's what i thought it was, now get back to school! >> there's a zero tolerance for fish food policy. >> you got one, al? are you a perfect parent? >> no, i'm not. but at least one of the kid, i won't say which one because then people will be looking at them, changing a diaper and you look away and the next thing you know they are under the bed, you know. >> under the bed. >> oh, you hear thud and they kind of roll. >> that happens. >> they are all right. >> let's move on to the next one. >> wow. >> this just kills me, cover the royals a lot on this show. >> right. >> everybody is speculating that kate may be pregnant because she tasted some water. >> oh, my gosh. >> did you see that. >> wants to stay hydrated.

>> they assume that she's pregnant. >> as you heard, she just came off a long flight at this engagement. >> she's drinking water. >> she's drinking water. not drinking the local wine. another one of these other magazines had a big thing that says kate's expecting, and their evidence was that apparently on the back of her dress there was a stitch that looked like it had been taken out a little bit, a sash. >> if that's the case, then i'm really pregnant. >> you cannot gain a pound -- she's so thin. she is waif-like, and she can't gain a pound without people saying she's pregnant. look at her boobs, they look great. >> people so concerned with other people's pregnancy, whether they are or not. when my wife was pregnant, she was like eight months, strangers in an elevator would put their hands on her and go when, when? and my wife, who is very funny, would go when what? and they would go, oh, i'm sorry, and she would never let on to the fact she was pregnant.

nobody's business and people shouldn't be touching somebody and just because someone is drinking water we shouldn't speculate. >> are we too obsessed with celebrity baby bumps? >> yes. >> i think we all agree but let us know how you feel about the subject, today.com on our website. >> some celebrities are just fat. >> some are a little bloated. >> right. >> here's the quote, some is celebrities are just fat. >> and many more are not pregnant. >> yes. >> move on. >> al, let's talk about the drink you drink every morning. >> people ever see this on camera? >> oh, my gosh, might run away from you. >> is that a solid or a liquid? >> put a little too much in today, but i drink this stuff, and i put a lot of fresh ginger in it. >> a lot of fresh ginger this it. >> why? >> i like the taste, anti-oxidants and helps -- ginger helps with digestion, it's an anti-inflammatory. >> you haven't even taken three sips of that and in your third hour here. >> my second. >> this is a fermented drink, so

what al is not telling you is that he's drinking a cocktail every morning. >> got a buzz on right now. >> fantastic. >> i don't want to drink anything that i have to chew. look at you chewing after you ke a sip. >> i chew, it i do. >> that's a lot of ginger though. >> we had the segment earlier about taking supplements and all that. do you think it's work? you're willing to try anything. >> i don't know if it works or if it's, you know, one of those things -- >> makes you feel good. >> use the power of your mind to believe it's working. >> what do you think it's done for you? >> nothing. >> look at his complexion. look at his complexion, he's glowing. >> like a baby's bottom. >> any secret potions, houry, that you drink? >> i won't touch anything. i don't have any supplements. i'm gluten-free. i do that. >> and germ-free. >> i try to be germ-free. i'm not germ-free. the fact that i'm here today makes -- >> you're on this couch and you're on that chair. >> we should have worn our bubble outfits. >> howie mandel, thank you. want to remind everybody the final performances of "america's

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edition of jill's steals and deals, great items at discounted prices just for you, our viewers. contributor jill martin is here to walk us through the offers. >> good morning. >> remind us for people who don't know how this happens. >> go on today.com and we'll link tout retailers' websites, and again, i say this every week, if you want something go on now because they have been blowing out within minutes. >> they have. let's get right to it. first deal today, the loose pocket wrap from flux, as you see, all these different colors that we have here. easy piece to dress up, dress down. great for traveling. >> the retail is $129, and you feel them. they are very comfortable and have a little rayon in it and won't wrinkle. great for travel. comes in six colors. the retail 129. the deal 38.70, 70% off. >> all the color choices here, as you can see. over here, this is a great set of skin care, comes with five of the brand's best-sellers. >> they put this together. they rarely discount their

prices like this, so if you like this, go on right now. the retail $202, the complete daily regimen and includes full-sized products of the best-sellers, foamy cleanser, the mist, recovery gel, day cream and hand cream. the retail 202. the deal for the whole set in the box, $52. that's 74% off. >> all natural skin caroline, right, really great. >> smell this. rose. >> i love that. >> feel like i just swallowed roses. over here for kids, children's song collection from little genius comes with ten different cds. >> i hear "the wheels on the bus." >> a little more rock 'n' roll. >> rock 'n' roll version, retail $98, the creators of baby genius, and the collection is 200 favorite children's songs. comes with ten cds. over six hours of music for children through the age of 6. nursery rhymes, alphabet songs, rock tunes, the retail $98, the

deal 28.40, 70% off. >> hopefully with ten cds won't have to hear the same songs over and over. >> watches from britta. >> i'm wearing my favorite. >> the white one. >> very cool. >> a fun watch, they retail to $45 to $70. all metal, rubber and lightweight plastic so these really are a fun watch to throw on. >> like that. >> big celebrity following. the retail, 45 to 70. the deal, $13. that's up to 81% off, and just go on the site. there's a variety of everything, colors, materials, everything is on. >> very cool. >> and comes in a cute tin so if you want to load up, can't believe i'm saying this, for holiday. >> very great gifts. >> over here, this is a major situation. this flatwear set, 48-piece set, everything included, servingware, all of it. >> major situation. >> even tongues. >> the retail, $269.99.

84-piece flatware set in a beautiful leather case as you see. kind of dinner for 12, including dessert, everything here. pieces handmade of high quality durable stainless steel and dishwasher safe. say that ten times fast. retails 269.99. the deal 79.99. that's 70% off. >> that's a great deal for 48 pieces. >> wow, fantastic. >> good job jill martin. here are the products for you once again. the flux's loose pocket wrap, the jurlique skin care set, little genius cd set and the watches and the flatware set. any questions, head to today.com. still ahead, gold medal olympian sanya richards-ross right after this. ♪ tell the neighbors, friends, everyone the news ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum ♪ ♪ let's hum ♪ a prius for everyone ♪ there's a bigger one, if you want more space ♪ ♪ a small one if the city's your place ♪

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but bounty basic can handle them. in this lab demo, bounty basic is stronger than the leading bargain brand. everyday life. bring it with affordably priced bounty basic. good morning. it's 9:26 on this wednesday, september 12th. i'm aaron gilchrist. a crash causing delays. danella sealock has more. >> as you approach 195, a crash has just the right lane getting you by. your jammed from 695 as you make your way past i-195. the best bet is jump on 295. seeing delays here at the parkway. you are jammed as you make your way to the beltway. it's stop and go for you. it will take 19 minutes to make it to the beltway. [ romney ] this president can ask us to be patient.

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you say remember guys, if your friends give you a hard time about being romantic, it's because they don't know how to treat their lady right. are you a romantic guy? >> i think i am. >> what's the most romantic thing that you've done? >> the most romantic thing that i've done -- >> we're going to leave you hanging there. that's why we call it a tease. what exactly is the most romantic thing justin bieber has ever done? you have to tune in tomorrow on today opens up about his past and future in an interview with ryan seacrest. i'm natalie along with al roker. get ready.

giddyup. guess what? he's not the only huge act coming to the plaza. we can't tell you who it is just yet. tune in tomorrow. huge announcement. >> i'm trying to figure out who it is. all right. meanwhile just ahead, not one, not two, but five one-minute do it yourself fixes for your home. a dog trying to fix his weight problem. you saw him. the dachshund. he's 77 pounds and now on a crash course diet to slim down. >> later on, your best beauty buys at your local drugstore. you can get high quality makeup. first we want to say hello to sanya richards-ross. she achieved her dream of becoming an olympic gold medalist to win the 400-meter. >> good to see you. >> i brought them for you. >> you brought them for us. >> so crossing that finish line for the first time, what was that like for you? >> oh, my gosh, it's still a bit

surreal for me. you cross the finish line and you can't believe it happened. it's a a dream i've had since i was a child. i believe that hard work pays off and living in the moment still. >> now being back home and i know that you and your husband who -- corner back for the jaguars, aaron ross. do you have time to kind of balance life and work and try to work it out so you get date nights in there too? >> we try to. sometimes it is difficult. i scheduled some time pulls us apart. we make time for each other. that makes our relationship so unique. we have great experiences but then we come together and share those moments. he's so special. he's my special guy. >> you got two gold medals. the second one for anchoring the 4 x by 400 meter. >> you know who is more protective of the medals is my

dad. do you still have the medals, do you have a picture. i take them everywhere. everybody wants to see them. they're in my purse all week. >> that's what we're missing a trophy rack. >> we need a trophy room. >> everybody should have a trophy room. >> you're in new york taking part in your other passion, which is fashion. >> yeah. >> look how fashionable you are. >> thank you so much. >> what shows are you going to go to? >> i love fashion like you said. it's one much my greatest passions. i've been to so many great shows, bcbg, re beck mink off, it's been great. couture, it's been my dream to take it in. >> when you cross the finish line, you always look good. >> thank you so much, natalie. >> sanya richards-ross. >> thanks for having me, now, a check of the weather. mr. roker. >> basically, we are looking at

a gorgeous day in the east. temperatures warmer and humid but not by much. chillier conditions, breezy weather. plenty of sunshine through the plains. wet weather along the frontal system. tomorrow, look for another warm day here in the east. wet weather from texas to the central great lakes. sunny and warm in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot in the southwest to southern california. that's what's going on in the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> still cool. i'm tom kierein. right now, a big area of high pressu above us. clear blue skies, temperatures climbing to the low to mid-60s. much of the region in the 60s. later, near 80. mid afternoon, low humidity and bright sun. clouds friday, saturday and sunday. still a dry pattern continuing all the way into monday. the nex and that's your latest weather. al, thank you. coming up next, one-minute projects to get your home in

shape after this. noxcuses. only takes a minute. there's a place where the sky is always blue and the kids always eat their vegetables. beacause the salad there is always served with the original hidden valley ranch. it's the way ranch is supposed to taste. and try new hidden valley for everything. it's in the ketchup aisle. yep...doh. [ boy ] slurpably fun and a good source of calcium. dads who get it, get go-gurt. try this... bayer? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine. [ male announcer ] it's the power of aspirin plus more tmula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula.

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and drive like you -- to see if your good driving could save you up to 30%. so try the way to save that's as unique as you are. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. this morning on today's home shlgs one-minute fixes. there's always something that needs repair. you don't need to hire a handyman. you can do it yourself. eric stermer is the host on a and e. eric, good morning. >> good morning. >> you're going to help us with the one-minute fixes. it takes too much time. no excuse, right? >> on my show, i talk about large scale issues. these are things you can do yourself at home. the first thing i wanted to talk about. the electrical switch is a basic concept but nothing changes mood

lighting and the feeling in a room like a dimmer switch. the anatomy is you take the switch plate off, take this off. this switch. you a replace it with a dimmer. there's a ground wire, a hot and a cold. you hook it up, put it back in, plate goes on and done. if you don't know how to turn the power off at the panel, you're in trouble. it's a voltage detector. if it's red, walk away and call in a professional. otherwise, it's something you can handle yourself. mood lighting. that's number one. >> also it will save you energy and everybody looks great in mood lighting. >> this is what i love to recommend. will you do me a favor. will you become a ceiling fan for me. hold that blade. if they're dusty, nobody knows how to clean them. what happens when you clean them, the dust falls on to the bed. it's messy. it's terrible. take a simple pillowcase like this. spray a cleaning solution. >> a fancy one.

>> any cleaning solution. you can go if there or on the blade itself. you encapsulate the fan blade and pull the dust off that way. it's contained in the bag, no mess, no fuss. >> five seconds, not even a minute fix. >> cleaning out the filters not only for air conditioning, your heaters as well. something that you need to do how often? >> an interior air quality is critical. people with allergies. i recommend at least every three months in the summer and the height of the winter season. if you have clean air, you have a great living environment. don't ignore this. these are in many shapes and sizes. bring your old one to the store, replace it. >> even if we're not using air conditioners, you immediate to do that? >> yeah. but in the height of the months where we're using them, it's critical to replace them every three months. that's an easy fix. >> this is a great one. >> clogged showerheads. >> that's right. what i like to recommend, instead of getting into replacing the showerhead because

water is not flowing, pour vinegar in a bag and tape it on the neck of the showerhead, let it soak overnight. all the things that clogged the showerhead, are free, flows again. that's about 50 seconds. >> not a problem with the unit. >> it's exactly that. >> it's the crud in there. >> that's why water doesn't flow. >> finally over here, stains on the spots and fixtures. >> water stains are difficult to clean. i don't like using the solutions that come in the commercial grade product. like a lemon cut in half. rub it on any area with chrome or finish on your fixtures, lemon only. wipe it off. good to go. then squeeze it in your salad dressing. >> cleaning the fingerprints. coming up next, the biggest doggie addition. the 77-pound dachshund's mission to get fit. that's right after this.

for a golf getaway. double miles you can actually use... but mr. single miles can't join his friends this is an nbc news special report. good morning, everyone. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie here in new york, and we're expecting a statement from secretary of state hillary clinton at any moment in the wake of these deadly anti-american protests in the middle east. >> four americans have been killed in an attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, including the u.s. ambassador there. christopher stevens and a foreign service information management officer sean smith. other names have not been released yet. that violence, of course, triggered by a u.s.-made film that denounced islam. >> we're understanding that secretary clinton is speaking from the treaty room at the state department, so let's bring in nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell, and andrea, we've already seen a

statement released from secretary clinton. what else are we expecting to hear? >> reporter: we're going to hear her not only express her profound sorrow but also speak to all of the diplomats. this is really a crushing blow to the foreign service, and chris stevens was personally close to the secretary and close to the president. this is someone who was only appointed by president obama, sworn in to office last may. he had had two prior tours of duty. he been in benghazi during the uprising. he had been on the ground in libya, but also as a career foreign service officer and ambassador in other parts of the middle east, he had been a -- a real leader of the foreign service. peace corps volunteer in morocco in the '80s, a graduate of berkeley, a real hero, and also sean smith, the foreign service officer. you're going to hear great sorrow and remorse. >> and are we going to hear from the secretary exactly what the state department and the administration plans to do to secure other embassies and consulates in the region and around the world?

>> reporter: i think that secretary clinton will speak about the importance of securing the consulates and embassies around the world, but i think you'll hear more of that from president obama who is going to be speaking at the rose garden in less than an hour, we're told, so this is all very fast-moving. they have only just been trying to confirm who the other two americans besides sean smith and christopher stevens are. >> and andrea, on that topic. i mean, there were conflicting reports this morning about how exactly this happened, how the ambassador died. what do we know about what happened in benghazi? >> reporter: what we know so far, and some of this is from richard engel's excellent reporting all night and libyan sources and sources in the region, is that he was -- the ambassador was inside the compound and may have fallen victim to smoke inhalation after the fires that were ignited around the consulate. so savannah, i think a lot of this is still to be determined. as you know very well, marines secure all of these facilities,

and that is -- one of the issues is whether there were some military deaths among the americans. >> andrea, of course, libya is not the only hot spot. we saw unrest at the egyptian embassy as well. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: well, richard has been reporting from outside the embassy in cairo, that it is calmer at least today than it was yesterday, and we're not exactly clear as to whether these two incidents are related, but it may well be related to this video, not had a move, and wasn't going to be distributed in any other fashion other than online. a lot of misinformation on the arab street but tragically this is what it has led to and you've seen calls in congress and elsewhere of great concern that it has not been immediately condemned by officials in cairo, instantly condemned, and, of course, they are recipients of billions and billions of dollars of american aid. >> andrea, stand by for us, if you will. still waiting to hear from secretary clinton. as you mentioned, richard engel has been reporting from outside the embassy in cairo all morning

long. richard, when we last joined you, there was a lot of protesting going on. what's the scene behind you now? >> reporter: there are still protests, but this is something of a quiet moment. a lot of the protesters right now are praying in front of the embassy walls. it looks like it might be over today, but they are calling for a much larger demonstration nationwide on friday after friday prayers, and that is a call to demonstrate that is supported by the muslim brotherhood, that is, of course, the party of egypt's new president, so how times have changed here. under former president mubarak, a close u.s. alley, demonstrators wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the embassy, now the new party's president is calling for more actions in solidarity with the demonstrators who are here and who yesterday climbed over this wall. they were unarmed here, however, unlike the demonstrators, the mob in libya, that attacked the

consulate and killed the u.s. ambassador. >> richard, on that note, how much are you hearing from people you talked to there in cairo surrounding that embassy about their knowledge and their feelings about what happened in libya? >> reporter: people here in general do not condone what happened in libya. they don't think that is the right message, and what is happening in this square is not necessarily representative of the entire country. the people protesting here by and large are hardline fundamentalists, and so many people think this was an obscure movie and jimgss and muslims everywhere around the world simply would have been much better ignoring it. >> let me ask you about this, richard. we spoke earlier. how is it that this obscure movie that you call it became such a flashpoint in the middle east, how did that happen? and secondly, is the movie the motivator for the egyptian attack and also the ones in libya, as you a understand it? >> reporter: oh, definitely. it was the movie both here and in libya. the movie was a motivator, but

it was really -- it was really clerics in this country who used the movie as a rallying cry, and they talked about it, and they said that it was a movie, not just an internet video, but some sort of hollywood blockbuster, that was going to be aired nationwide in american theaters on the anniversary of 9/11. that's why the protests started yesterday. once they started here, message swept across the border to libya. they continued in libya and became much more violent. >> all right. richard engel, stand by, if you will as well. this from a statement from the white house, from the president. i've directed my administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in libya and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. kristen welker is standing by now at the white house where, as we mentioned, a short time ago the president is expected to speak a little bit later on. kristen, good morning to you. what can you tell us? >> good morning, matt. i can tell you that according to senior administration officials

president obama learned about this incident initially yesterday afternoon when he was having his weekly meeting with his secretary of defense, joint chiefs of staff. he learned that there had been an attack there in benghazi. then last night he learned that ambassador stevens was missing. this morning he learned about his tragic death. so the white house, of course, monitoring this situation very closely. one of the big concerns is what will this mean for the united states and for its relationship with that new government that is forming in libya? i've spoken to a senior administration official here who says that officials in libya are cooperating right now with u.s. officials. of course, this has taken a bit of a political turn as well, matt. president obama in his initial statement, while condemning the attacks, also said that he condemned all sorts of religious intolerance. mitt romney put out a statement, i'm going to read it to you, in which he said it's disgraceful that the obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions but to sympathize with those who waged

the attacks. in response the obama campaign put out this statement, matt. we are shocked that at a time when the united states of america is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in libya governor romney would choose to launch a political attack, so even while they are dealing with this unfolding situation, politics still playing a role here, but, again, we are expecting president obama to address the nation from the rose garden in less than an hour now. matt? >> kristen welker at the white house. stand by as we await secretary of state hillary clinton, her statement from the treaty room of the state dertment. we should mention, matt, that u.s. officials are telling nbc the state department has requested additional units of marines to beirlifted to libya to bolster security at the u.s. embassy there, the air force preparing to send a couple of aircraft to libya to supply medevac flights. >> one of the things this brings up. a lot of people hear about diplomats and diplomacy and think that this is a situation that only involves sitting around a table or making phone calls and forging personal

relationships, but you have to remember, and this is evidence of that situation, that these diplomats are placed into very dangerous situations on a daily basis, and so these attacks in libya and egypt will be watching very closely by u.s. diplomats in other parts of the world. >> well, incredibly, hot spots to be posted, too. in fact, important to go back to richard engel on that. here we have libya and egypt, two centers of revolutions, recently. rich, what is the security situation there, and in some ways is this evident of how unstable it is that things could get out of control? >> reporter: i think it's evidence of how unstable things remain in libya. the libyan security services said that they were overwhelmed by this mob. the mob attacked the consulate building in bengz we homemade grenades, with rocket-propelled grenades and with machine guns

so somewhat of a barrage. here demonstrators run armed. they are unarmed right now. they got very excited and climbed over the wall and scribbled somewhat expensive graffiti on the embassy wall, but there was no direct act of violence, no weapon here, and there was no point in time, as far as we can tell, were any personnel in danger here in cairo. >> when you talk about thelans from demonstrators in cairo for a larger demonstration tomorrow, do you have any sense what it's going to take to kind of suppress this situation and bring down emotions? >> i think the idea of the government is to let people give off steam and just since we've spoken the government, the muslim brotherhood, the party of the government, said that it does condemn the attack, does embassy, but it also supports people's legitimate right to

defend their religion and condemn this horrible movie, so it seems that the government here wants to have it both ways. it doesn't want to offend its religious base, but it also wants to not isolate the united states, but by calling for demonstrations and allowing people to come out on the streets and vent their anger, it shows a very different political mood in this country than we had before the arab spring movement. >> you know, in the mubarak days, which i don't have to tell you, the military obviously ruled with an iron fist, but they were at least liked better than the police. what's the dynamic like now? >> reporter: right now the muslim brotherhood is taking over the security services, taking over the military, taking over the police and is putting its own cadres in those top positions, and a lot of people in the military blame the u.s., blame this building right behind me, for turning its back on their old friend in the egyptian security services, so perhaps

it's not quite surprising that the egyptian security services didn't rush in to help defend the u.s. embassy when many people in the army say the united states turned its back on the army, turned its back on mubarak, threw its lot in with the muslim brotherhood and will now have to deal with it. >> and a different situation, one you know an awful lot about, richard, across the border in libya. since the fall of moammar gadhafi there's been somewhat of a security vacuum on the streets of many cities in that country. >> reporter: it has remained rebelous since gadhafi left, with rebel factions controlling cities, controlling neighborhoods, and benghazi wasn't the capital, but there was a very strong political presence there because a lot of the political leaders stayed in benghazi, never came to tripoli. that ambassador, chris stevens, had to go to bengz toe meet some of the top political leaders.

chris stevens was a very active member of the opposition movement. he was there with the rebels from the very beginning. he was popular on the ground with the syrian opposition. in many ways he helped them achieve the liberation of moammar gadhafi so it is even more tragic that he was killed by this mob. >> richard engel reporting from cairo. just about to go to the state department. secretary clinton expected to speak any minutes. just a couple of other minutes from the statement released by the state department and secretary clinton a little earlier. she says all the americans we lost in yesterday's attacks have made the ultimate sacrifice. we condemn this vicious and violent attack that took their lives which they had committed to helping the libyan people reach for a better future. america's diplomats and development experts stand on the front lines every day for our country. we are honored by the service each and every one of them gives. andrea mitchell. >> andrea mitchell at the state department. this is the first ambassador killed in the line of duty,

andrea, since 1979. >> and, of course, that was in afghanistan. that's with the russian invasion of afghanistan, so this is an extraordinary occurrence, and it should be overlooked that three other americans, including a foreign service officer, at least one other foreign service officer, a member of the diplomatic corps, sean smith, also lost his life in this conflagration in benghazi. this is also a political problem, and you know the white house and state department are trying to come to grips with that in the middle of a political campaign, and the fact that there was an exchange of very harsh e-mails and press releases last night between the mitt romney and the obama campaigns about the initial response from the cairo embassy, so this is fraught with complexity as well as obviously most importantly the loss of life and a strategic and security challenge for the administration. >> andrea, just to give people an idea of what's been going on. secretary clinton was supposed to come out several minutes ago. it's now been delayed, but she is coming out shortly.

you might assume that perhaps they are trying to notify next of kin of those other americans so that when she makes her statement she can come out and pay tribute and honor all of the four americans who were killed during these attacks and not just the two that we've mentioned so far so we'll see if she has that information to share in just a couple of minutes. >> reporter: that is, of course, their first concern is to notify the next of kin. we were up all night with the state department officials and others in the u.s. government trying to even confirm that ambassador stevens had in fact lost his life, and none of us wanted to report anything, but we, even internally, did not know the real fact of that until 10:00 last night when they first even confirmed that a diplomat had been killed. >> and actually, we learned from a senior administration official that there were some hours when the president himself did not know. >> reporter: exactly. >> the first word that the white house got is that this ambassador was unaccounted for, later confirmed he had passed away during that consulate attack. not only are we awaiting the

secretary of state to address reporters at the state department, we also await a little bit later on next hour a statement from the president in the rose garden. >> all right. we're going to now join secretary clinton who is making some statements from the treaty room at the state department. yesterday, our u.s. diplomatic post in benghazi, libya was attacked. heavily armed militants assaulted the compound and set fire to our buildings. american and libyan security personnel battled the attackers together. four americans were killed. they included sean smith, a foreign service information management officer and our ambassador to libya, chris stevens. we are still making next-of-kin notification for the other two individuals. this is an attack that should shock the conscience of people

of all faiths around the world. we condemn in the strongest terms this senseless act of violence, and we send our prayers to the families, friends and colleagues of those we've lost. all over the world every day, america's diplomats and development experts risk their lives in the service of our country and our values because they believe that the united states must be a force for peace and progress in the world, that these aspirations are worth striving and sacrificing for. alongside our men and women in uniform, they represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation. in the lobby of this building, the state department, the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty are inscribed in

marble. our hearts break over each one, and now because of this tragedy we have new heros to honor and more friends to mourn. chris stevens fell in love with the middle east as a young peace corps volunteer teaching english in morocco. he joined the foreign service, learned languages, won friends for america in distant places and made other people's hopes his own. in the early days of the libyan revolution, i asked chris to be our envoy to the rebel opposition. he arrived on a cargo ship in the port of benghazi and began building a relationship with libya's lev loseries.

he risked his lif a tyrant and then gave his life, trying to help build a better libya. the world needs more chris stevenses. i spoke with his sister ann this morning and told her that he will be remembered as a hero by many nations. sean smith was an air force veteran. he spent ten years as an information management officer in the state department. he was posted at the hague and was in libya on a brief temporary assignment. he was a husband to his wife heather, with whom i spoke this morning. he was a father to two young children, samantha and nathan. they will grow up being proud of the service their father gave to

our country, service that took him from pretoria to baghdad and finally to benghazi. the mission that drew chris and sean and their colleagues to libya is both noble and necessary, and we and the people of libya honor their memory by carrying it forward. this is not easy. today many americans are asking. indeed i asked myself. how could this happen? how could this happen in a country we helped liberate in a city we helped save from destruction? this question reflects just how complicated and at times how confounding the world can be,

but we must be clear-eyed, even in our grief. this was an attack by a small and savage group, not the people or government of libya. everywhere chris and his team went in libya in a country scarred by war and tyranny they were hailed as friends and partners, and when the attacks came yesterday, libyans stood and fought to defend our post. some were wounded. libyans carried chris' body to the hospital, and they helped rescue and lead other americans to safety. last night when i spoke with the president of libya, he strongly condemned the violence and pledged every effort to protect our people and pursue those

responsible. the friendship between our countries borne out of shared struggle, will not be another casualty of this attack. a free and stable libya is still in america's interest and security. and we will not turn our back on that. nor will we rest until those responsible for these attacks are found and brought to justice. we are working closely with the libyan authorities to move swiftly and surely. we are also working with partners around the world to safeguard other american embassies, consulates and citizens. there will be more time later to reflect, but today we have work to do. there is no higher priority than protecting our men and women, wherever they serve. we are working to determine the

precise motivations and methods of those who carried out this assault. some have thought to justify this vicious behavior, along with the protest that took place at our embassy in cairo yesterday, as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet. america's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation, but let me be clear. there is no justification for this, non-. violence like this is no way to honor religion or faith, and as long as there are those who would take innocent life in the name of god, the world will never know a true and lasting peace. it is especially difficult that this happened on september 11th.

it's an anniversary that means a great deal to all americans. every year on that day we are reminded that our work is not yet finished, that the job of putting an end to violent extremism and building a safe and stable world contins. but september 11 means even more than that. it is a day on which we remember thousands of american heros. the bonds that connect all americans wherever we are on this earth, and the values that see us through every storm, and now it is a day on which we will remember sean, chris and their colleagues. may god bless them and may god bless the thousands of americans working in every corner of the

world who make this country the greatest force for peace, prosperity and progress, and a force that has always stood for human dignity, the greatest force the world has ever known, and may god continue to bless the united states of america. thank you. >> secretary of state hillary clinton speaking in the treaty room at the state department using very direct and solemn words to talk about the loss of four americans in these attacks at the consulate in benghazi, libya, saying that it's an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world, and as we wring back bring back in andl she asked the question that she said others would be asking, how could this help in a country we helped to liberate and a city we helped to save, andrea? >> reporter: that's the profound

question, and she sai she asked that question of herself, the question that others are asking. that's the question americans will be asking, the question that members of congress are going to be asking when we talk about all of the billions of dollars that we have spent. the american lives, not in rescuing libya but now four american lives lost after libya was supposedly on its way back. her other point, a very important point, was to say that this violates the conscience of people of all faiths. she's trying to try to heal the divide that some will feel between faiths and among faiths after this protest over a video that wasn't even something that was going to be distribud, but a video that was deeply offensive to the people, the protesters in benghazi and also in cairo, and also she made the point that not only withy are going to be securing our missions but we are going to be staying there. she reaffirmed the resolve and spoke to the people around the world, military and diplomatic, who are on those front lines, and she said that this is

something that reaffirms our resolve and the fact that this happened on september 11th tells us that we have a lot of work left to do. matt and savannah. >> no question, and iia. she is walking that fine line as a diplomat saying it's clear that there's no justification for this, that it's hard for americans to understand how this could happen in a country they helped to liberate but at the same time making the point that libyans also helped in the rescue eorts as well. want to remind everybody we expect the president to make a statement from the rose garden shortly. we plan to bring you that live. >> and we're going to be back with more of "today." i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. this has been an nbc news special report. back now with more of "today" on this wednesday morning. covering a developing story over the last 24 hours.

>> reporter: good morning. first of all, no one here was listening to the secretary's comments. they only want one thing, and that is for the united states ambassador to be kicked out of this country, and they want the united states to pass laws making the creation of films like this illegal, and they say they will hold another demonstration on friday, a much bigger demonstration nationwide to condemn the offensive material which was specifically targeting the muslim prophet muhammad. many here do not support the violent attack here in benghazi that resulted in the death of

the u.s. am bbassadorambassador. think they this -- they think that overstepped the line. >> richard, set the scene for what happened yesterday in libya. >> reporter: first it began here in cairo. a demonstration turned agitated as demonstrators scaled these 20-foot walls behind me, got into the u.s. embassy here at cairo, tried to take down, did take down the u.s. flag and put up a black islamic banner. they did this because they were offended by an internet movie that an egyptian cleric was discussing here on local television, and that was rallying people and was offending the sensibilities of this particular community. after the demonstration here and after they managed to pull down

the flag in the embassy here in cairo, a smaller group of armed demonstrators in benghazi, libya, attacked with force the consulate there. they stormed it with machine guns, with rocket propelled grenades, with homemade grenades and managed to set the consulate on fire. what appears to be a coincidence, although it's not quite sure if the u.s. ambassador was targeted or if he was just there at the time. i know that's something u.s. officials are looking into right the u.s. ambassador happened to be in the consulate as it was burning down and died. according to libyan officials, he died because of smoke inhalation. as we heard a short time ago, the u.s. secretary of state said libyan guards managed to bring his body out and help other americans in the consulate building escape to safety. >> all right. richard, thank you. >> kristen welker is at the white house where the president

will speak in the rose garden not long from now joined by secretary clinton, we understand. kristen, do you expect the president to layout -- not only honor the men who died but to lay out the path forward? >> reporter: i do. i think we'll also hear a strong condemnation from the president about this violence. he'll echo a lot of what we just heard from secretary of state clinton. i think you're going to hear forceful words and of course this is a country that the united states helped to liberate, as you have been pointing out. i think president obama will address that issue as well. and again, there is some concern abt how the united states' relationship will evolve moving forward with libya. i think you'll hear president obama address that as well. the fact that officials in libya so far have been cooperative with the united states. i think you're going to hear very strong words from the president when he speaks in just a few minutes. >> all right, kristen. thank you. at the white house this morning. >> busy morning around here. we want to get the other top stores.

>> good morning. chicago's school system is at a standstill for a third day. nbc's kevin tibbles is there with the latest. >> reporter: a third straight day of empty classrooms, parents juggling jobs and kids, picketing on the street and still no end in sight. a sea of red in chicago as thousands of striking teachers crowd city streets in a massive show of solidarity. >> we did not pick this fight. we did not start this fight. >> reporter: while days of intee negotiating ve people disagrees, kids will once again today be out of the classroom. >> i do believe it was totally avoidable, totally unnecessary. it was a strike of choice, and it's the wrong choice for our children. >> reporter: hot-button issues remain. how teachers are evaluated and the hiring of new teachers versus those who have been laid

off. while their children's fate is negotiated behind closed doors, parents hustle to keep them occupied. >> if it goes into next week, we'll find ourselves challenged. >> reporter: classrooms sit empty. children just want to know why. >> i have a new teacher. i only had her for four days. i want to see her again. >> i miss my teacher. >> reporter: and perhaps to ease some of that strain on parents, those chicago schools that have been remaining open, staffed with nonunion employees, now say they'll stay open an extra two hours a day so parents, perhaps, can spend a little more time at work. natalie. >> kevin tibbles in chicago, thank you so much. a new book from the italian boyfriend of amanda knox admits that he and knox attracted suspicion with their strange behavior after knox's house mate meredith kercher was found slain

back in 2007, but he insists they were innocent. they both served four years in an italian prison for kercher's murder but were acquitted last fall. las vegas is cleaning up after powerful storms flooded the city leaving drivers stranded in the road. meantime, in southern utah heavy rains there and flooding caused an embankment to breach, damaging homes and washing out roads. a snow day on the red planet. a nasa or bitter has spotted snowfall on mars that can even accumulate on the surface. meantime, jupiter may have take an bullet for us. a large meteorite slammed into the planet. you're up to date right now. let's get back to matt, savannah, and al. >> we like to thank the people of jupiter.

>> a little shoutout for jupiter today. >> meanwhile, you predicted it was going to be a bad winter on mars. >> that's right. in fact, we're starting ski reports on mars. it's going to be fantastic. let's show you what we've got. a cold front making a big change in our weather out west, especially all the way from minneapolis back into nevada. we've got that cold front bringing a lot of rain from flagstaff all the way to minneapolis. some areas picking up 1 to 2 inches of rain. the other change this front is bringing, temperature-wise, look at these temperatures. chicago today, 88. 87 in st. louis. 90 degrees in tulsa. behind it, temperatures drop abdomen 10 to 20 degrees. upper 60s to low 70s. as that front makes its way across the country, it will be dropping temperatures all across the country as well. that's what's going on across the u.s. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods.

$104 for his information that exposed the secrets of a swiss banking giant. cnbc has the details. >> reporter: bradley birkenfeld went to the u.s. government and revealed the inner workings of the famously secret swiss banking system. still, they said he withheld information about his own role and sent him to prison on conspiracy charges back in 2009. he was irate.

>> this is the largest tax fraud case in the world, and i sacrificed my reputation, my life, my finances, and this is how i get treated? >> reporter: but on tuesday, birkenfeld's lawyers announced he's getting a spectacular windfall. $104 million from the irs. >> today is a great day, a great day for the american taxpayer. >> reporter: but law, whistle blowers are entitled to a percentage of money they return to the u.s. government. birkenfeld's lawyers say the government collected more than $5 billion in new taxes as a result of his information, justifying what could be the largest payout to a single whistle blower in u.s. history. and sending a message to other financial executives, tell uncle sam what you know, and you could get very rich. even though the government might have to write checks to some unsavory characters. >> you don't have mother teresa and the boy scouts planning these things.

>> reporter: in geneva, birkenfeld's job was to court big clients and move their money into swiss bank accounts. he even once stashed expensive diamonds in a toothpaste tube to cross the border for a client. after he came forward, ubs paid $780 million in penalties and turned over more than 4,000 client names to the u.s. government. thousands of additional secret account holders have since turned themselves in through an irs amnesty program. >> birkenfeld is currently under house arrest and will have to pay taxes on that $104 million he's getting from the government. coming up, never before seen photos that show scott peterson inside california's san quentin prison on death row. they're images that give a rare glimpse of his life there. we'll talk to the woman who took those images. first, this is "today" on nbc.

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this is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world. we condemn in the strongest terms this senseless act of violence, and we send our prayers to the families, friends, and colleagues of those we've lost. >> we are back with more of "today" on this wednesday morning, september 12th, 2012. that was secretary of state hillary clinton comments on and condemning those attacks in libya, which killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three others. good morning, everyone. incredibly shocking day.

>> she was very direct in her comments. she talked about ambassador stevens risking his life to bring down a tyrant and then giving his life to make the future for libya a little bit better. she said these attacks should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world. >> and for those who are blaming it on a film, something that wa was -- it was defamatory to islam, she said there's no justification for this. clinton, of course, is scheduled to join president obama with he makes a statement from the white house. we expect that at any moment. nbc's kristen welker is there. kristen, good morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning, savannah and matt. president obama set to speak here in the rose guaarden any minute now. i think you're going to hear a strong condemnation of this violence in libya and cairo from the president. he'll be joined by the secretary of state. he'll also likely talk about the fact they're increasing security at u.s. thembassies worldwide.

he's going to essentially say this cannot stand, that the united states cannot stand behind this type of violence. the president was informed yesterday afternoon about the violence in benghazi and in cairo, and then last evening he was informed that ambassador stevens was missing. it was not until this morning that he learned about his tragic death. he echoed some of comments of the secretary of state hillary clinton when he said that ambassador stevens was dedicated and really one of the great servants for the united states. matt and savannah. >> all right. kristen welker, as we await word from the president. we have one other of the names of the victims who fell. it's sean smith, who was a diplomat, who had been with the foreign service about ten years. he's an air force veteran, somebody who was only on detail to benghazi, libya, when all of this happened. >> and when secretary clinton spoke a short time ago, she said they were still trying to notify the next of kin of the two other americans who were killed in

that attack. republican presidential nominee mitt romney is also speaking out about the attacks, and the obama administration's response. of course, all of this happens in the midst of a heated political campaign. nbc's peter alexander is in jacksonville, florida. good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. we did just hear from governor mitt romney a short time ago, making a statement as well as criticizing the president for handling things overseas. today there was criticism whether he came out with that statement too early. there was criticism whether, in fact, all the facts were known as the time. he defended his statement. here's exactly what he had to say to reporters a short time ago. >> when our embassy has been breached by protesters, the first response should be not to say, yes, we stand by our comments that suggest that there's something wrong with the

right of free speech. >> what did the white house do wrong then, governor romney, if they put out a statement that they disagreed? >> their administration spoke. the president takes responsibility not for just the words that come from his mouth but the words that come from his ambassadors, from his embassies, from his state department. they clearly sent mixed messages to the world and the statement that came from the administration and the embassy is the administration. the statement that came from the administration was a statement which is akin to apology, and i think was a severe miscalculation. >> reporter: across this country, conservatives view this as an opportunity for mitt romney to show that he would be a strong president in the face of terror around the world. i just got a statement from a source close to the campaign that said mitt romney did exactly what he needed to do today, that he was strong, and in the language i received, that he was concise. they refer to the president as

weak in the face of terror. matt and savannah. >> peter alexander in jacksonville, florida, this morning. peter, thanks very much. >> let's get to richard engel. he's in cairo, which also saw its share of demonstrations yesterday at the embassy. richard, i wonder how much concern and fear there is that this will spread. we have a producer in afghanistan who said that the government has turned off youtube there for fear that people there will watch this video and similar violence will erupt. >> reporter: and that is possible. there is a precedent. if you'll remember in 2006, in february, there was an obscure cartoon in a danish newspaper that nobody in the middle east could even read to make out the captions. that caused deadly violence across the region. now people know that this video exists. the video has arabic subtitles. people can see it for themselves. it is getting a lot of publicity by the demonstrators who want to denounce it themselves.

so, yes, there is a possibility that in countries like indonesia or pakistan or afghanistan where there have been these kind of inflammatory demonstrations, that we could see another round of them. watch friday, in particular. that's when these things tend to happen. >> richard, let's draw a real firm line of distinction between the kinds of demonstrations we've seen there and egypt and in cairo, behind you, and what we saw in benghazi. there in egypt although protesters seemed to breach a wall of the embassy and unfurled some unflattering banners, in benghazi, this was armed resistance and armed attackers. >> reporter: yeah, what is happening right now is a fairly civil, legal demonstration. the egyptian security forces are here. they are not armed with anything more than batons and shields. their shields are down. the demonstrators are chanting

against this internet film. >> we are obviously having some trouble with richard's signal from cairo, egypt. we'll try to get back to him, even as we wait for the president to make statements in the rose garden at the white house in just a couple minutes. >> let's turn now to al roker. you have a check of the weather. >> we have some temperatures changes going on as we look at the jet stream about 20,000 feet above the earth's surface. we are going to be looking at more heavy rain coming in, plenty of heat out west. i should say to the east. we're looking at heat. we're looking at cooler conditions out west as that

and that's your latest weather. matt. >> all right, al. thank you very much. we're waiting for remarks from president obama on the attacks in libya and egypt and the loss of four american lives in benghazi. we'll bring that to you live from the white house. first, these messages. we want to be your favorite store. we're creating a whole new way to shop for the brands you love, at values you can believe in. and a bold new look that will look even better on you. ♪ keeping up with the kids is tough, so i drink emergen-c.

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good morning, everyone. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. this is an nbc news special report. president obama is about to make a statement from the white house rose garden about those deadly attacks in libya that killed four americans, including the u.s. ambassador there, chris stevens. >> we expect him to be joined by secretary of state hillary clinton, who we heard from just a few moments ago. let's get to nbc's kristen welker at the white house. kristen, what are we expecting to hear from the president? >> reporter: well, we're expecting president obama to issue a strong condemnation of attacks, savannah and matt. he's going to come out witthe secretary of state. you can expect him to essentially deliver high praise for ambassador stevens, the three other americans killed, and to map out the path forward, to talk about what the united states' relationship will be with libya moving forward. my sources here tell me that the

libyan government has been cooperating fully with the united states, but of course there's a big question mark. what will this mean for the u.s./libyan relationship? of course, we helped to liberate libya. so this is really going to be difficult moving forward. we expect president obama to address some of those issues. he was alerted about this situation last night. he was alerted that ambassador stevens was missing, and then this morning he learned the tragic news that ambassador stevens had, in fact, been killed along with three of his other staffers. again, we are awaiting president obama to come out here. here he comes. president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton. >> good morning. every day all across the world, american diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the

interests and values of our nation. often they are away from their families. sometimes they brave great danger. yesterday four of these extraordinary americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in benghazi. among those killed was our ambassador, chris stevens, as well as foreign service officer sean smith. we are still notifying the families of the others who were killed. today the american people stand united in holding the families of the four americans in our thoughts and in our prayers. the united states condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack. we're working with the government of libya to secure our diplomats. i've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world. and make no mistake, we will work with the libyan government to bring to justice the killers

who attacked our people. since our founding, the united states has been a nation that respects all faiths. we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious believes of others, but there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence. none. the world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts. already many libyans have joined us no doing so. this attack will not break the bonds between the united states and libya. libyan security personnel fought back against the attackers alongside americans. libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety and carried ambassador stevens' body to the hospital where we tragically learned he had died. it's especially tragic that chris stevens died in benghazi because it is a city he helped to save. at the height of the libyan revolution, chris led our

diplomatic post in benghazi with characteristic skill, courage, and resolve he built partnerships with libyan revolutionaries and helped them as they planned to build a new libya. when the gadhafi regime came to an end, chris was there to serve as our ambassador to the new libya and worked tirelessly to support this young democracy. i think both secretary clinton and i relied deeply on his knowledge of the situation on the ground there. he was a role model to all who worked with him and to the young diplomats who aspire to walk in his footsteps. along with his colleagues, chris died in a country that is still striving to emerge from the recent experience of war. today the loss of these four americans is fresh, but our memories of them linger on. i have no doubt that their legacy will live on through the

work that they did far from our shores and in the hearts of those who loved them back home. of course, yesterday was already a painful day for our nation, as we marked the solemn memory of the 9/11 attacks. we mourned with the families who were lost on that day. i visited the graves of troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in iraq and afghanistan at the hallowed grounds of arlington cemetery and had the opportunity to say thank you and visit some of our wounded warriors at walter reed. then last night we learned the news of this attack in benghazi. as americans, let us never, ever forget that our freedom is only sustained because our people who are will iine willing to fight lay down their lives for it. our country is only as strong as the character of our people and the service of those both

civilian and military who represent us around the globe. no acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. today we mourn for more americans who represent the very best of the united states of america. we will not waiver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act, and make no mistake, justice will be done. but we also know that the lives these americans led stand in stark contrast to those of their attackers. these four americans stood up for freedom and human dignity. they should give every american great pride in the country they served and the hope that our flag represents to people around the globe who also yearn to live in freedom and with dignity. we grieve with their families, but let us carry on their memory and let us continue their work

of seeking a stronger america and a better world for all of our children. thank you. may god bless the memory of those we lost and may god bless the united states of america. >> president obama speaking at the rose garden, or in the rose garden at the white house accompanied by secretary of state hillary clinton who spoke a little bit earlier on talking about the role of and bravery of our diplomats around the world, condemning the outrageous and shocking attacks in libya and of course in egypt as well. the protest there not violent. he said he will increase security at our embassies and our consulates around the world. >> also taking time to point out that this attack will not break the bonds we have with libya. as we turn to andrea mitchell, both the president making remarks alonthose lines, secretary of state making remarks along those lines. there are americans waking up, seeing this news, saying what in the world did we get for saving

this country? >> reporter: that is clearly the concern. they are sending a very strong signal, as you point out, savannah. both of them, the president and the secretary of state, saying libyans fought side by side with americans to try to protect the consulate, that libyans then carried the ambassador's body to the hospital, trying to save his life. they are trying to reassert there is this unbreakable bond, but clearly, as you point out, there are going to be political questions. there already have been, about the stewardship of the white house and the administration in this. you saw mitt romney speaking even before the president. questions are being raised about that. but you're going to see questions on capitol hill and throughout america. and this does place foreign policy front and center alongside the economy as one of the issues, at least that's going to be addressed in this campaign. >> although president obama did not mention any of the back and forth that's been going on between his campaign and the romney campaign over the last 24 hours of this. we just heard a bite from

governor romney on this a few minutes ago. clearly the president did not feel this was the time or the timing for those kind of comments. >> and i'm not sure he will address it unless in the debate or in some other form. clearly the president was not going to take that political baitand is trying to stay above the fray. their campaigning will be very combative at much lower levels and already were in midnight duelling press releases. the romney campaign started it first. many observers, including chuck todd and others v said it was a misstep. >> let's go down to peter alexander. he's in jacksonville, florida, this morning. he's been bringing us up to date on the comments from governor romney. peter, good morning again to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. mitt romney actually reentered this room in the jacksonville area. the event that was previously scheduled at this site was canceled. he did, however, hold a news conference and release a statement to reporters saying that basically it was outrageous

and disgusting what had occurred overseas and both egypt and specifically in libya with the death of the u.n. ambassador and three other members of the embassy staff. here is specifically what we heard from mitt romney just moments ago, defending his criticism of the obama administration for putting out a mixed message and for a lack of clarity on foreign policy. >> the attacks in libya and egypt underscore that the world remains a dangerous place and that american leadership is still sorely needed. in the face of this violence, america cannot shrink from the responsibility to lead. american leadership is necessary to ensure that events in the region don't spin out of control. we cannot hesitate to use our influence in the region, to support those who share our values and our interests. >> reporter: that is governor romney. he shakes hands with his supporters here in jacksonville. one of the important timeline

notes is that governor romney said specifically doubling down on a statement that his campaign put out last night accusing the president of sympathizing with america's attackers in those events that took place overseas. it's unclear whether or not that statement came after the events had already begun to unfold over there or before. they put the statement out after a tweet that was sent by the u.s. embassy in cairo. they were making the statement he was referring to as sympathizing. right now it's unclear whether or not they jumped the gun or whether or not those events that ultimately led to the loss of four lives had already started to unfold. >> nevertheless, it appears he's standing by that criticism this morning. we see how this rapidly unfolding international story is also being felt in the presidential campaign trail as well. >> and we want to mention we are still awaiting the identities of the two other americans who were killed in that attack in benghazi.

we know that chris stevens, the ambassador there, was killed along with sean smith, who was a foreign officer. we're going to have more on the story throughout the day and of course on "nbc nightly news." we discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. it's just one way purina one is making the world a better place... one pet at a time. discover vibrant maturity and more at purinaone.com.

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